Greek falafel pitas

Greek falafel pitas is a tasty, yet healthy bite for this summer. If… you are reasonable on the feta cheese, of course… I love to make meals with a bunch of veggies precut on the table, a creamy healthy dip and pitas, or fajitas bread and let people chose for themselves their fillings.

Pita breads have a tendency to dry quite fast, resulting impossible to open them up to fill them, if this happen to you, simply add a little wet and clean kitchen towel over it without it touching the bread directly, let it work it’s magic 30-40 minutes, then they will open up again. Also possible to make them by yourself, although not the easiest… talking from experience here. For this recipe, I’ve simply bought some.

Those falafels, a.k.a. wanna be falafel, aren’t the typical kind with the usual cumin, coriander, mint, etc. I’ve made them greek, so I’ve add some oregano, thyme, a few kalamata olives, little lemon zest and garlic to them. That’s why the color is purplish… maybe I should simply called them greek chickpeas-kalamata veggie balls.

The whole idea came from souvlaki in pita, like they do in Greece. At first, I wanted to make it with a normal marinated pork, but since I’m on this eternal diet… I had to make something healthier with it. Also the tzatziki sauce is handmade with 0% fat greek yogourt. You’ll see, all the flavors are there even if it’s healthy and low in fat. I, always, add way more cucumber to my tzatziki sauce, to make it almost light green, love it this way. All this might be a bit more work than the usual pork marinade, but it’s all worth it, you’ll see. Healthy and tasty is my motto. The veggie balls leftovers are, of course, easy to bring for lunch the next day, they actually just get even better with a little given time.

So let’s make those greek falafel pitas!

Greek falafel pitas

Makes 3-4 portions

Ingredients

The greek falafel

• 400g chickpeas
• 70g (5 tbsp) of chickpea flour (or normal flour)
• 1/2 spanish onion
• 12 pit less kalamata olives
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp of lemon zest
• 1 tsp of lemon
• 1 tbsp of tahini
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tbsp of thyme
• salt and pepper

The Tzatziki sauce

• 150g plain greek yogurt (eternal diet people: 0% fat)
• 1/2 peeled cucumber
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• Salt 

The toppings

• 6 pita breads
• Feta cheese
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Bell pepper
• Red onion
• Lettuce
• Tzatziki sauce (see recipe higher)
• Greek falafels (see recipe higher)

Directions

*Start by making the tzatziki a few hours ahead (minimum 1 hour)

Tzatziki sauce

1. In a blender, blend to paste the peeled cucumber
2. Add to a sieve with some salt and let it lose its water, push with a spoon for helping it out. (keep the cucumber juice, add a little sparkling water and lemon to it, delicious!)
3. In a bowl add the garlic and olive oil and mash it until purée (can also add the garlic in the previous step with the cucumber)
4. Add the cucumber paste in the garlic purée bowl and the yogurt, lemon, extra salt and mix well
5. Let marinate in the fridge a minimum of 1 hour before serving

The greek falafel

*Bring oven to 180°C (350F)

1. In a blender, add the onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs and blend into puré
2. Reserve in a bowl
3. Add to the blender, the chickpeas and blend, not too much (enough to see some pieces of chickpeas)
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
5. Make little balls with the mixture and put on a baking tray
6. Cook at 180°C (350F) for 25-30 minutes (depending on the size of your falafels)
7. Let cool and reserve

The Grand final

1. Add all the precut veggies on the table with the tzatziki sauce, pita breads, greek falafels and feta cheese and let your guests choose their own fillings

Kali orexi! (enjoy!)