Falafel Pitas

The same friend gave me this recipe.  I love using beans and this is super good.  The recipe looks like there are lots of steps, but it really isn't hard or too time consuming.  Yummy.

Falafel pitas:

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
2 T chopped green onions
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 large egg
1 garlic clove chopped
Dash of ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:
1/4 cup shredded seeded peeled cucumber
1/4 plain 2% low-fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt

whole wheat pitas, halved
Bibb lettuce leaves
tomato slices

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a food processor. Process until finely chopped.  (I mash the chickpeas with a fork and then add the rest of the ingredients instead of using the food processor.)  If the mixture seems too dry you can add a little olive oil.
Shape the mixture into little patties.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat the pan with cooking spray.  Add the patties to the pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

Combine cucumber, yogurt, juice and salt in a small bowl.

Assemble pita with lettuce, tomato and falafel and top with yogurt sauce.  (I love to spread hummus in the pita before I add everything else.)