CSA Week 4 - June 23rd - tzatziki, green bean hummus, and falafel

When I started rattling off the produce that we had on hand tonight Jonathan perked up at "cucumbers" and suggested cucumber yogurt sauce. On a hot and humid day he wanted something cool and refreshing and I had also been dreaming of the cucumbers making their way into a Mediterranean meal somehow.

After some research I settled on the cucumber yogurt sauce (tzatziki) and green bean hummus. I was entertaining the idea of just having these dips with pita, or picking up some falafel mix, but when I took a look at a falafel recipe and saw how easy it was, how many ingredients I already had, and that it used ONE HALF CUP of parsley, I decided to make it from scratch. A good choice.

The tzatziki (recipe below) is a mixture of Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, dill (dried from CSA Week 2), red wine vinegar, oil, and pepper. It is imperative that it sits for at least an hour, ideally more, for the flavors to meld and develop. Imperative.

The hummus is a mixture of green beans, cannelini beans, lemon juice, tahini, roasted garlic, almonds, and oil. I followed the recipe except used about 3 cups green beans (that's what I had) and steamed them until tender, added 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, and added a raw clove of garlic.

We both agreed it could use a little something to perk up the flavor on  its own, though it melded well with everything else. I'd like to try some cumin in it. (Update 6/25: cumin and salt are helpful to the flavor.)

The falafel (!) was a mixture of chickpeas, onion (I used half a medium one), parsley, garlic, egg, cumin, coriander, cayenne, lemon juice, baking powder, olive oil, and bread crumbs. If you follow this recipe go easy on the salt as the amount you need will vary based on your beans (I used about 1/2 tsp). I ground most of the cumin from whole seed, which I think makes a huge difference. I also baked the patties in the oven on a well-oiled baking sheet at 400F for 15 minutes, then flipped and baked for another 10 (instead of frying them).

Avoiding the urge to just eat the tazatziki by the spoonful, we enjoyed CSA-goes-Mediterranean with some pita bread.


Tzatziki
2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, chopped, tossed with 1/2 tsp. salt and drained in colander while preparing other ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried dill (1 tbsp. fresh)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least one hour, longer if possible.

p.s. I have been trying to taste more of the produce raw and it's all so incredibly delicious!