Falafel Burgers and Bulgur-lentil salad YUMM delicioso

I have wanted to make these forever and had the perfect chance. Made them on a day when Jason wouldn't be home. He isn't a fan of this kind of food at all. I have to say, I was in pure joy when eating them and they lasted me four days. I had my friend Jess over to help me finish it. Yummy. Rachael Ray. She makes four big ones. I swear, I made about 15 little ones. I wanted to stuff two into the pita to have a better ratio. It worked out nicely. I made them about the size of a Chips Ahoy cookie if that's an ok reference for you. This is an amazing dish. I actually ended up using hummus instead of the tahini sauce, although I would have liked to have had that instead. I just didn't want to fork out the money to buy it. It would go a lot better. The falafels are made of chickpeas which is what hummus is made of so it's kind of a bit much, but it does need something, so I would use one or the other or make some kind of yogut sauce. I wanted to do that too. Anyhow. Super super yummy. I love it so so much. The salad is from Ellie Krieger and I loved it too. It is really fresh tasting and just all around nourishing. I would add a little more lemon than she did. I just squeezed another half over the top. I found it a little plain. It was a nice change of pace for me though. Enjoy.
Herbed Bulgur-Lentil Pilaf

2008, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

• 1/2 cup green lentils
• 1 cup bulgur
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely diced (1 cup)
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place lentils and 2 cups broth in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender and most liquid is dissolved, about 30 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid. While lentils are cooking, place bulgur and remaining 2 cups chicken broth in another small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until most liquid is dissolved and bulgur is tender, about 13 to15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Add the bulgur to the lentils.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook until peppers are tender, another 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to bulgur-lentil mixture. Stir in parsley, basil, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to incorporate.

Falafel Burgers

Rachael Ray

• 2 cans garbanzo beans (15 ounces each), drained and rinsed
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• A large handful of parsley, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup tahini paste
• 3 tablespoons water
• Juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 4 sandwich-size whole wheat pita pockets
• 1-1 1/2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 English (seedless) cucumber, sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup hot pepperoncini peppers, sliced (depending on how hot you like it)
• 2 vine-ripe tomatoes, sliced

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 300ºF.

Pat the chickpeas dry with a paper towel and place them into a food processor. Add in the red onion, garlic, parsley, flour, spices and seasonings along with the beans and process until fairly smooth and very thick, so that you can form patties.

Pre-heat a large nonstick skillet with 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Form four large patties and cook for 3 minutes on each side.

While the patties are cooking, get the sauce started by placing the tahini paste into a medium size mixing bowl. Add the water, lemon juice and lemon zest and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the sauce aside for the falafel burger assembly.

Cut the edge of each pita to form big pockets, then wrap them in foil and place them in the pre-heated oven to get warm, 3 minutes.

Remove the pitas from the oven and sauce each pita with a couple of tablespoons of the tahini sauce. Place some shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, peppers and tomatoes in each pita, then slide in the falafel burgers and enjoy! Pass the extra tahini sauce at the table.