Falafel-Stuffed Pitas

The patties will seem small when you're forming them, but they fit perfectly in the pita halves. To prevent the falafel mixture fom sticking to your hands, dip them in water before forming the patties. Look for tahini near the peanut butter and other nut butters.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed pita halves)

Ingredients

• Falafel:
• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4  cup  chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  large egg
• 1  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 
  Sauce:
• 1/2  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 2  tablespoons  tahini (sesame-seed paste)
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 
  Remaining ingredients:
• 4  (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, cut in half
• 8  curly leaf lettuce leaves
• 16  (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato

Preparation

To prepare falafel, place first 8 ingredients in a food processor; process mixture until smooth. Divide mixture into 16 equal portions, and shape each portion into a 1/4-inch-thick patty. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until patties are browned.

To prepare sauce, combine yogurt, lemon juice, tahini, and 1 garlic clove, stirring mixture with a whisk. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini sauce into each pita half. Fill each pita half with 1 lettuce leaf, 2 tomato slices, and 2 patties.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

403 (28% from fat)

Fat:

12.6g (sat 1.9g,mono 5.6g,poly 3.9g)

Protein:

15g

Carbohydrate:

59g

Fiber:

6.8g

Cholesterol:

56mg

Iron:

4.4mg

Sodium:

901mg

Calcium:

188mg