Sunday, May 23, 2010

Meatless Monday: Falafal & Pita


In case you missed this full disclosure communiqué, we are now embracing one meatless meal a week, in conjunction with the official Meatless Monday movement.

We're actually eating more like 2-3 meatless meals a week, and so far there are no complaints.

Let me just state for the record, Meatless Monday was no invention of mine. Apparently there was some confusion on the subject, and I can't take credit for this global crusade.

(Wordless Wednesday isn't mine either, but it doesn't hurt to have a few people thinking that is was my creation.)


Chickpeas. Yep, I mashed them, seasoned them, shaped them into patties and baked them with a bit of bacon fat. Which felt weird. Like I was defeating the purpose of cooking vegetarian. But the falafal tasted amazing.

We stuffed the patties in organic whole-wheat pitas, crammed fresh vegetables in along side and enjoyed everything topped with sour cream. Tzatziki would have been even better.

Head over to Chow Vegan for the recipe, but please, don't compare photos!


One note on the recipe: I didn't have a sprig of fresh herbs in the house (recipe calls for parsley & cilantro) so I threw a handful of dried mint from my mother's potager into my mortar and pestle and crushed it up. It always amazed me how these home-grown, home-dried herbs retain their fragrance and flavor.

The mint was subtle and delicious in the falafal. I would use it again.

Enjoy your Meatless Monday! Its a holiday here in Canada--and I'm in the mood to grill. Please pass along ideas for fabulous vegetarian grillables!

8 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I hope you have enjoyed your long weekend Aimee. We also go meatless quite often and am always looking for delcious ideas such as this one.

kickpleat said...

Ha, love the use of bacon fat! And the mint addition sounds lovely. I approve :)

vanillasugarblog said...

i just made some of these the other night and should post it. i must try the bacon fat-fabulous!!

Jan (Family Bites) said...

How about mixed veggie kebabs? Or a veggie kebab bar? We do that with the kids and allow them to customize what they put on their kebab (which means I don't have to fight with them to eat what's on their plate).

Maria said...

One of my favs! I will be making this very soon.

Natalie said...

I love falafel but haven't tried making it at home yet, can't wait to give this a go!

On Sunday check out my blog as I have a FABULOUS grilled veggie recipe, just in time for meatless monday :)

Cheri said...

I tried a meatless recipe last week.. but I don't think my husband is so easy to convince. This recipe looks delicious though.. maybe it's the perfect one to brake him. ;)

Unknown said...

OMG the pita bread was so easy to make! and delicious, I'm really thankful for this amazing recipe, btw I made this with bread flour (00 flour), and it worked just fine. Thank you so much!

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