Black Eyed Pea Falafels

I am thinking about maybe changing the name of this site to amylikestomakeuprecipeswhilecleaningouthefridge.com

or crapiliketodowithleftovers.net

or shestoocheaptothrowanythingout.org

No?

Keep the title I already have for now?

OK.

It just occurred to me that pretty much every recipe I have shared on this site starts with me saying, “so…I had a little leftover fill in the blank in the fridge and just hated to throw it out…”

Humor me and pretend that this is more charming and clever than it is anal and annoying.

…

Oh wow! What was that?

You guys just love how resourceful I am with odds and ends in the fridge?

Dude, seriously, that is sooo nice of you to say that.

And you know, it is really interesting that you suddenly felt the need to compliment my leftover using skills because it just so happens that that is what today’s recipe uses!

….

Sooooo I had some leftover black eyed peas in the refrigerator, and I just hated to throw them out.

I have used black eyed peas as a chick pea stand in for hummus before so I had a pretty good idea that this was going to be excellent.

And guess what? It is now one of our all time favorite suppers. In fact, just last night I was cooking up some flat breads for dinner and the Little Dude asked, “Is this for falafels?” I think she was a little dissapointed when I told her that it wasn’t.

(Side bar…ummm yeah…how cool is my three year old that she asks for falafels?)

These bad boys are super easy, cheap, healthy, and crazy tasty.

Simply take your leftover black eyed peas, drain off most of the liquid, pulse them up in the food processor for a couple of seconds, and then dump them into a bowl.

Next place half an onion, garlic, parsley, and an egg and give them all a few pulses together. Then pour them on top of the peas.

Now here is my shpiel on parsley. I personally feel that a little bit of parsley goes a looooong way. I know that falafels should be green from all of the parsley that you are supposed to put it in it, but this to me does not taste good. So if you are one of those people who enjoys a great deal of parsley flavor in your food then by all means, knock yourself out, but I am going to keep things moderate over here if that is OK with you.

Next up stir in the remainder of your ingredients: baking powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, and bread crumbs. You may need to sprinkle in a few more bread crumbs if it looks a little more moist than you would like. This just kind of depends on how much liquid you left in your peas.

Murphy’s Law of Cooking with Kids Around #73 states that as soon as you get your hands covered in something, somebody is going to fall down, or grab a pair of scissors off the counter, or pee on themselves. So while I love to get my hands all up in my food as much as the next cook, it just isn’t a good idea most days. I discovered that an ice cream scoop is one of the best ways to form up the little patties. Plus it gives them all a uniform size, which means they will cook up evenly. Hooray!

You are totally feeling the vibes from that subliminal messaging there aren’t ya?

Flatten out your little mounds of falafel with the back of a spatula. (I tried to get a picture of this but apparently there was an earthquake or something because all of my pictures are pretty blurry)

Bake ’em up, and check it out! The South just met the Mediterranean in your kitchen!

I like to serve mine up on homemade flat breads with sharp feta, crisp baby spinach, juicy tomato slices, and a tangy little mixture of tahini and lemon juice.

So. Freaking. Good.

The Hubs and the Little Dude like to keep there’s a little more simple and a little less traditional with cheddar cheese only. Here is The Hubs modeling his that he so expertly rolled up like a burrito.

And while I do like mine better, I will tell you that this is actually pretty darn tasty too.

Black Eyed Pea Falafels

2 cups cooked black eyed peas, drained

1/2 onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 heaping teaspoons cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup bread crumbs (place extra if needed)

Preheat oven to 425.

Pulse peas in a food processor. Pour into a large bowl.

Pulse onion, garlic, parsley,and egg in food processor. Add to peas.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Form into patties and place on a well greased cookie sheet. Spray the tops with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve on warm flat bread or pita with your choice of toppings.