Falafel Bowls

I love where we live. We’re right in the center of Eastown, a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, on a quiet little residential street that somehow doesn’t draw a lot of traffic. We’re surrounded by parks, unique houses, impractical shops, and more restaurants than a person knows how to handle.

But what I love most about my little corner of the world is a house that is not my house at all, it’s the Pita House.

The Pita House is a restaurant with weird hours and odd décor and a Subway-style ordering system where the pita masters create massive falafel sandwiches and perfect orders of Greek Fries.
After long runs that were especially grueling or when we are especially lacking motivation to run anything that might constitute as a long run, we make a pact to head straight to Pita House. Jackson and I each order our own giant falafel sandwich and ask for nearly all the veggies as the falafel deep fries happily in the background. If we are ravenous (it’s a fairly safe bet that we are), we’ll each place an order for Greek fries.

We’ll spend the next few minutes exploring the shelves of giant cans of chickpeas, tahini, grape leaves, and sun-dried tomatoes while the fries and falafel are lovingly removed from the fryer. The falafel are tucked into the already-packed pitas and the fries are smothered in feta cheese, lemon-oil, fresh parsley, and a sprinkling of magic seasoning.

We walk the two blocks back to our house, clutching our pita treasures close to our hearts. We’re guaranteed to be full and happy the rest of the day. Pita House never disappoints.

But not every day can be a Pita House day (which can sometimes feel like torture since I pass by it at least once literally every day). Besides, Pita House is sacred. Sacred things are not to be a daily ritual so the holiness of the occasion can be preserved. But we can still have falafel in between! And what better way to enjoy falafel at home than in a bowl with other wonderful things?

Falafel bowls make up the perfect dinner or lunch. Honestly, it’s such a delicious mix of things and it’s been known to be such a crowd-pleaser that I would be surprised if this doesn’t become a staple in your home.

The elements of the falafel bowl are as follows: Couscous salad, falafel, hummus, avocado, feta, pita. Here’s a more comprehensive breakdown:

• Couscous salad: Couscous, red pepper, cucumber, raw spinach, mint, lemon, olive oil, garlic- All mixed together.
• Falafel: You can be a champion and make your falafel from scratch, but I use Trader Joe’s falafel mix. It’s less than $3 and makes a heck of a lot of falafel. You can find dry falafel mix in most major grocery stores.
• Hummus: I’ve used both homemade hummus and store-bought. Either way, I highly recommend the roasted red pepper variety.
• Feta: Feel free to eliminate the feta to make the dish vegan. But if you are going with feta and you happen to swing by Trader Joe’s, get yourself some feta with Mediterranean herbs. Pure magic.
• Avocado: Because it has a place everywhere, including our hearts.
• Pita: I get pita bread from Trader Joe’s. I brush olive oil on both sides of each pita and cut them into eights. When they are arranged on a baking sheet, I sprinkle them with garlic powder and let them bake at 400 until slightly crispy. I sprinkle salt over them as soon as they come out of the oven. Ta-daaa! Pita chips!

Make these falafel bowls whenever you feel depressed that the Pita House is not part of your life. It won’t ever make that hole in your heart go away completely, but it will help.