Steel Cut Oat Falafel

Ingredients

For the falafel

• 1 1/2 cups dried gorbanzo beans, soaked overnight
  
• 2/3 cup steel cut oats, soaked overnight
  
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves
  
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  
• 2 teaspoons cumin
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  
• Juice of 1/2 lemon+ more to taste
  
• Pita Bread
  
• Oil for frying
  

For the Sauce

• 8 ounces plain yogurt
  
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and diced
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (+more for garnish)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• Garnish: prepared hummus, shredded lettuce, diced red onion, diced tomato, and pepperoncinis
  

Directions

1. The night before, soak 1½ cups dried chickpeas in water. In a separate bowl, cover ⅔ cups steel cut oats with water; let sit overnight.
2. Before preparing falafel, mix plain yogurt, the English cucumber, fresh cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp onion powder. Let sit for flavors to marry as you prepare the falafel. The longer it sits, the better.
3. Fit your food processor with the steel mixing blade. In the bowl of processor, measure 2½ cups soaked chickpeas, ⅔ cups steel cut oats,chopped red onion, garlic cloves, fresh parsley,fresh cilantro, cumin, salt, cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Turn food processor on low and mix until contents begin to stick together; go beyond a rice texture, but don't quite blend to a paste. You want it to have a nice, full falafel texture.
4. Once everything is mixed, test a small bit of the batter by rolling into a ball the size of a ping pong ball. If it's too dry and the ball does not hold its shape, add a little bit of the oat water from the bowl and incorporate into the mixture. This will help it stick together. Roll the mixture evenly into balls and place on a plate. Once balls are rolled, place plate in the refrigerator.
5. Meanwhile, pour about 3 inches of vegetable oil in a skillet. Heat over high until oil reaches 375 degrees. Remove falafel from fridge and carefully add to hot oil. Cook, 6 balls at a time, until falafel turns golden brown, about 45 seconds a batch. Make sure your oil stays hot so the falafel balls fry evenly. When done, put on a paper towel covered plate.
6. Serve falafel when it's hot by spreading a generous amount of prepared hummus in a pita, add shredded lettuce, diced red onion, diced tomato, and falafel. Drizzle with cucumber-yogurt sauce, top with a pepperoncini and enjoy!