Falafel and Shrimp Salad

I mixed cultures a little bit on this one, but that's allowed if it tastes good right? Greek and middle eastern inspired cuisines come together to make one tasty salad! Falafel, tzatziki, shrimp and a simple salad is a winning combo in my book! These GF falafels are slightly modified from this recipe http://littlespicejar.com/the-best-homemade-falafels/, and are very easy to make. Next time I will use half parsley and half cilantro as she suggests, but plain parsley turned out delicious! You'll find my homemade tzatziki within my recipe for Mediterranean zucchini boats. Buttery lemon shrimp takes it to the next level of yummy and you can never go wrong with half of an avocado! With all the added goodies this salad is filling enough for dinner, but would be perfect for lunch too!

Ingredients

For Falafel

1 cup canned garbanzo beans

1 bunch of parsley

1/2 purple onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 TBSP lemon fresh juice

1 TBSP coriander

1 TBSP black pepper

1 1/2 TBSP cumin

1 1/2 TBSP sea salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (Or more if you like spice)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP sesame seeds

2-4 TBSP gluten free all purpose flour (I needed 3)

Olive or avocado oil (For frying only- Don't add to mixture)

For Shrimp

1/2 LB fresh shrimp (devein)

1 TBSP butter

1/2 lemon juiced

1 clove minced garlic

Garlic powder to taste

Salt to taste

Lemon pepper to taste

1 tsp fresh dill

For Salad

Leafy green lettuce mix (Don't waste your time with iceberg...It has no nutritional value.)

Tomatoes

Celery

Cucumber

Avocado

Dill

Feta cheese (I used feta with Mediterranean seasoning)

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Salt

Lemon Pepper

Garlic powder

Directions

For Falafel

Combine everything except garbanzo beans, flour and sesame seeds into the food processor.

Pulse a few times to combine/chop.

Tip- I cut my onion into fourths but the processor should take care of everything else.

Add garbanzo beans to the processor and mix on low until everything is well combined.

Tip- Don't mix into a paste. You still want some small but formed pieces of the garbanzo beans.

Add mixture, sesame seeds, and flour (one TBSP at a time) and mix until able to form balls/patties.

Heat oil on medium high and add patties when sizzling hot.

To make flipping easier don't overcrowd the pan.

Cook 2-3 minutes per side.

Tip- I let mine get quite brown but not burnt. If your pan starts to smoke too much turn heat down slightly, but some smoking will occur.

Mix before adding flour

Before frying

Inside with crispy outside!

So yummy topped with taztziki!

For Shrimp

Season shrimp on both sides with Salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Heat butter on medium high and add shrimp when hot.

Add minced garlic to pan.

Cook 2-3 minutes and flip.

Squeeze lemon juice over shrimp and add dill.

When the shrimp is done cooking it will form a loose "C".

Remove from heat and stir to coat with juices in pan.

For Salad

Add lettuce and chopped vegetables to a large bowl.

Squeeze half of lemon, and add spices, dill and olive oil

Tip- When everything is added, I cut through the salad with kitchen scissors a few times, focusing on cutting up the lettuce. This keeps the salad from getting "Unmixed" where all the veg sinks to the bottom.

Toss well with tongs.

Serve salad into good sized bowls and top with 2 or 3 falafel, shrimp and half of an avocado.

Add tzatziki to the top of the falafels and I ended up putting some on the avocado as well.

Finished with feta, a healthy squeeze of lemon juice, a little more olive oil, sea salt, and lemon pepper.

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