Spinach Falafel Salad with Tzatziki

I LOVE Mediterranean food. I think it is my favorite type of food...that and Latin American food.  I made falafel but I didn’t want to eat it on it’s own so I threw it in a salad and added homemade tzatziki sauce…yum! When making it be sure to thoroughly dry the beans and all of the other ingredients so it doesn’t get too wet to form the balls.

Servings: 5
Prep/Total Time: 60 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups canned chickpeas
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 5 cups Butter lettuce
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients, except for the rolled oats, into a food processor. Pulse the mixture until it is in between a chunky consistency and a paste (much like very coarse sand). Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Fold the rolled oats into the mixture until it is evenly combined.
3. Form 2-3 Tbsp-sized spheres on a greased baking sheet about 1 1/2″ apart from each other. Pat them down so that they are about 1″ thick, this is so they bake more evenly.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then very carefully turn them over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. The top and bottom should have a little brown on them.
5. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Place the lettuce, tomato and falafel in a large bowl and top with Tzatziki.

Tzatziki

Servings: 5
Prep/Total Time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 8 oz Kite Hill plain unsweetened Greek style yogurt
• 1 cucumber- peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined.
2. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.