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Falafel Patties

I was shopping at a local grocery store when I noticed falafel patties for 89¢ each at their deli counter!!! That seemed outrageously expensive when I knew that I had a mix in my pantry for falafel patties made from healthy ingredients (brand Fantastic or Near East) that cost $1.89. So I hustled right home, made up the mix (just add water), put some canned garbanzo beans found in my refrig into the food processor with a smidgeon of ground cumin and olive oil, then added them to the mix for a bit more texture.

I made this mix with the added garbanzo beans into about 25 patties about the same size as I saw in the deli. I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. To make clean up easy, I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper and just tossed that when done.

I served them in warmed pita bread halves with the traditional diced cucumber, tomato and lettuce, topped with tahini ( sesame seed butter ) thinned with equal parts water and lemon juice until spoonable, but still a little thick. For color and additional flavor, I added some chopped chives fresh from my garden.

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Falafel Patties (continued)
I served them with fresh corn on the cob and steamed fresh green beans mixed 50-50 with garlic scapes (the flower stalks from garlic bulbs, found in our garden and also available during the summer at a good produce market) plus a salad of more fresh tomatoes slices, small fresh mozzarella balls and fresh basil. Easy to do on a hot summer evening or any other time of the year. This was a delicious feast.

Variation:
Recently I was served delicious falafel patties that were green inside. I duplicated this at home by adding some parsley to the box mix mentioned above. Here is exactly what I did:

Purchase one of those huge bunches of parsley at the grocery store. Wash is carefully and spin dry in the salad spinner. I used half of the bunch, cut off the big part of the stems to put into my compost pile, put the leaves in the food processor and swirled to chop fine. Next I added 1/4 cup water to the food processor to help chop the leaves even finer. I added this all to the mixture from the box along with only 1 cup of water instead of the 1-1/4 cups suggested on the box directions.

These were beautiful to look at, delicious, and much moister than making them straight from the box as directed. Serve warm in pita bread halves with tomatoes and unflavored yogurt mixed with diced cucumbers.