Devon's Cooking.... Baked Falafel Sandwiches

This weekend we had a great time with our old Boston buddies (who now live in Houston), Neil and Kersta. On Saturday night, after a great day of hiking in La Jolla and watching the "fake-wave surfers" at WaveHouse (and after a Bear Fight at Pizza Wings'n' Things), we decided to hit up one of our favorite SD take-out spots, The Kebab Shop. Kersta was craving a falafel sandwich which inspired me to look for a baked falafel sandwich recipe to try and get Dave and I back on track after a weekend of unhealthy eating... Here's what I'm cooking for dinner tonight:

BAKED FALAFEL SANDWICHES
Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
garlic (as much as you want-- I used quite a bit!)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp tahini sauce (you can get this at the grocery store or Cost Plus, if you have one nearby)
Iceberg lettuce, shredded
4 wheat pitas (I like Western Bagel pitas as they are really low in calories)

Instructions
In food processor, combine garbanzo beans, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, baking soda and process until pureed. Stir in flour and shape into 8 medium sized patties. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high, add patties and cook on each side for 2 minutes. Transfer entire skilled to oven for 10 minutes and bake.

Once the falafel are done, put shredded lettuce and 2 falafel patties in each pita and drizzle the falafel with tahini sauce.

We will have our falafel with a nice red leaf and tomato salad (with our fave Paul Newman low-cal balsalmic vinagrette dressing on the side). Had the Kennishes not forced so much wine down our throats over the weekend, we would also probably add in a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (or Carlo Rossi-- that one's for you, Kennishes!). Enjoy!