Mediterranean-Inspired Dinner: Falafel and Hummus

  

When we were in Maryland a few weeks ago, my sister took us to a restaurant in Georgetown called Cava …and it was delicious. After, I was inspired to try my own hand at a Cava-like meal, so made falafels and hummus.

Hummus

I am not sure I will ever buy hummus again—making it is so easy and you can cater the taste to your own liking. This was really simple, but delicious:.

INGREDIENTS

1 can of chickpeas

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons of Tahini

Chopped fresh dill (as much as you prefer)

Salt (as much as you prefer)

Pepper (as much s you prefer)

DIRECTIONS

1.       Drain chickpeas, reserving the canning water. Put the chickpeas, 3 tablespoons of the canning water, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor; blend till smooth.

2.       Add the Tahini and continue to blend.

3.       Add the dill, pepper and salt. Taste and use additional seasoning if necessary.

Falafel

I found this recipe online and used this as my base. I did, however, make a few tweaks, including baking the falafel in order to make it healthier.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small naan (torn into small pieces)

1 can of chickpeas, drained

1/2 small onion, peeled and finely diced

1/2 small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt (as much as you prefer)
Pepper (as much as you prefer)

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Place the shredded naan into the food processor and beat until you have crumbs.

3.       Add chickpeas, onion, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper. Blend until you have a paste that can hold a shape.

4.       Form the mixture into golf-size balls. Place on a baking sheet and bake until browned. [Note: I would check every eight minutes or so and turn the falafel in order to get browned on all sides.]

Tzatziki and cucumber/tomato garnish

While the falafel was cooking, I made tzatziki sauce and a cucumber/tomato mixture to go with the meal.

Cucumber/tomato garnish

INGREDIENTS:

Half of a tomato, diced

Half of a cucumber, diced

Half of an onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

Fresh dill, chopped

Fresh parsley, chopped

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Generous dash of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix.

2.       Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tzatziki

INGREDIENTS:

1 container of Greek plain yogurt (I used a lower fat variety)

 Half of a cucumber - peeled, seeded and diced

1  tablespoon of olive oil

 1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt

Pepper

Fresh dill, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix.

2.       Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In assembling the meal, I used naan instead of pita bread. I put on a layer of hummus, then a layer of the tzatziki sauce, then the cucumber/tomato mixture, and topped with the baked falafel.