My sister was the inspiration behind my Gluten-Free Falafel with Meyer Lemon Dip. My sister Stephenie enjoys a gluten-free diet. On a recent trip to California, she brought home meyer lemons picked from the tree in my parent’s yard. It was such a nice surprise.

When I was young, my sister and I would make lemonade using ripe lemons off that tree. Meyer lemons are small in size, round, fragrant, sweet and have less acid than other lemons commonly sold at the market, such as Lisbon and Eureka. The smell and taste of these lemons remind me of California, sun and warm weather. Although it was forty degrees outside here in New York, it smelled of summer in my kitchen. Not only did I use the Meyer lemon in my yogurt dip, but I also used it to make the falafel. The falafels compliment the dip and vice versa. This is a delicious treat.

Falafel’s are always a favorite one-bite among the hungry film crews and photo shoot personnel. Since I do my best at Reel Chow by offering healthy gourmet bites, I baked the falafels instead of frying. They do come out less crunchy, as opposed to fried ones, but knowing each bite has less fat is a fair trade-off in my eyes!

Gluten-Free Falafels (on left) Regular Falafels (on right) with Meyer Lemon Yogurt Dip. ©Reel Chow

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