Baked Falafel

I got a massage on Saturday morning at a place that is conveniently located next to Trader Joe's.  I've been on the hunt for some goat cheese varieties - I really want to try blue goat cheese and goat cheese brie, specifically.  Living where I live, there's not much opportunity for fancy.  I did end up with some goat cheese slices, but not what I was really looking for.  I did get two amazing mozzarellas - Burrata and Buffalo.  They were gone by Sunday afternoon.  I also randomly picked up tzatziki sauce because I was in some kind of post-massage brain mush and I guess I was going to figure out later what to do with it.  I dipped some crackers in it and then thought FALAFEL!!  Duh.  Most amazing taste combination.  I researched how it's made and it seemed easy enough.  It pretty much was.

Baked Falafel
from Instructables

1 15 oz can chick peas, drained
1/2 onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley and cilantro
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse to blend.  Scrape sides with a spatula occasionally.  Blend until completely mixed.  Taste to make sure you like the mix.

With your hands, collect about 2 tbsp of mixture and ball it up.  Flatten into a disc and place on baking sheet prepared with cooking spray.

Bake about 15 minutes, then check to see if they're firming up on the bottom and flip.  Bake again until firm on both sides, but soft inside.

I'm probably not the most qualified person to tell you anyone how to make falafel.  I followed the recipe, but my batter was too wet and my patties were too dry and crumbly.  They did, however, taste delicious and the tzatziki was fantastic with it.  You could probably bake these in ball form, but I don't know how they'll stand up.  My favorite part of the recipe is just the beautiful colors of the fresh herbs against the red spices.  I will make these again soon.  Maybe I'll try to fry them next time.