Falafel and Tzatziki

This is a recipe that Ryan gave me and we had for dinner tonight. Pretty quick and very delicious. Sauce can be made in advance!

FALAFEL:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I only used a tsp)
  
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425.
   
2. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
3. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
4. Spray oil a baking sheet. Place patties on sheet and bake on the bottom rack about 25 minutes flipping once.
5. Serve in pitas with tzatziki sauce or hummus.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes. We added a little extra dill and some lemon juice!