falafel with cucumber yogurt sauce.

i love me some falafel. salt lake city has a greek festival in the fall where you can get your falafel, spanakopita and baklava fix, and i miss it. i'm always a little wary of frying because of a past incident involving coconut shrimp and a fire extinguisher. . . surprisingly, these fried up beautifully without any rings of flaming oil. i have committed to buying a cooking thermometer for the future, however.

falafel with cucumber yogurt sauce

makes 4 wraps

ingredients:

wheat wraps (makes 4 10" tortillas)

1/3 cup flour

1 1/3 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup boiling water

cucumber yogurt sauce

1 6 oz. contained greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded & minced

salt & pepper, to taste

falafel (from bonappetit.com)

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup onion, chopped

3 tbs. flour

2 1/2 tsp. salt-free garlic pepper spice blend

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbs. italian parsley, chopped

vegetable oil for frying

1. combine the flour, wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl. add the shortening and mix by hand. create a well in dough and pour in boiling water. mix with a fork until dough forms, then knead with flour about 3 minutes.

2. divide into 4 evenly sized balls, place them on a baking sheet and cover with a cloth for at least 3o minutes.

3. meanwhile, combine the cucumber yogurt sauce ingredients and place in fridge.

4. roll out balls of dough into 10" wraps. cook one at a time on griddle or pan over medium heat, about 30 seconds each side. set aside.

5. combine chickpeas, onion, flour, garlic pepper, cumin, baking powder and salt in a blender or food processor. add parsely and incorporate with hands.

6. generously flour a plate. form mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and generously coat in flour. (you should end up with about 16 balls of falafel.)

7. pour 1/2" of vegetable oil into frying pan and heat to 375 degrees. in two batches, fry falafel until deep brown, flipping once, about 3 minutes. transfer to paper towels to drain.

8. place 4 balls on each wrap and generously drizzle cucumber yogurt sauce on top. serve as a wrap.