i’ve been wanting to make falafel pitas for a long time. i love them and i love the tangy taste of tzatziki sauce. i think you can do some many things with falafel: pair with lamb, to have as part of a spinach salad and cous cous; have as part of a smorgasbord of food, like we did; top with a israeli inspired salsa (heirloom tomatoes, white beans, olive oil, grilled squash; so. many. options.
ok, i’ll cop to the fact that i didn’t make the falafels. i had every intention to, and then i got to trader joe’s and they had pre-made frozen falafels that you just toss in the oven and it was already late and i was hungry… so… i bought them and they were delicious. of course, i had already bought the chickpeas to make my own falafel with, so those will get made soon.
but this recipe is about the meal, and the pitas, so read on!
what you need for tzatziki:
one cucumber
two single-serving plain (not vanilla!) greek yogurt
one teaspoon minced garlic, or one garlic clove, chopped finely
three tablespoons lemon juice
one tablespoon salt
fresh dill, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
one tablespoon olive oil
what you need for pitas:
pita pockets
falafels (trader joe’s has a package of 12, assume 4 per person)
feta cheese
heirloom tomatoes, cut into pieces
the rest of the cucumber
olives
what you do:
preheat the over to 325.
for tzatziki: cut your cucumber in half and dice one half of it. cut the other half into small chunks, but they don’t need to be small. keep separate! in the bowl with the diced cucumbers, add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt. mix together. empty the greek yogurts on top and gently stir. sprinkle the dill and parsley on top and fold in. the sauce will be chunky because of the cucumber. stick in the fridge for half an hour to an hour.
for the pitas: cut your pocket bread in half and wrap with aluminum foil. arrange the falafel on a sheet pan and stick the pita packet on the tray as well. heat for 15-20 minutes. while that’s cooking, set out the olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta. we made our own, but you could very easily make these for people to just grab off a tray. when the pita is warm, start by putting a bit of feta at the bottom. cut the falafels in half and stuff inside. i added tomatoes and cucumbers to the top and then i drizzled the tzatziki on top. i ate the olives on their own 😉
{now, i promised a friend that i would talk about how to turn this into a dressing for a salad, and while i’m no expert on salad dressings, what i would do is dump all the ingredients into a blender and mix, then keep it on low and add a third of a cup of olive oil and a third of a cup of white wine vinegar. the oil and vinegar will emulsify while the blender is on and you end up with a creamy cucumbery vinaigrette. you might have to play with the ratios of oil and vinegar too. i did warn you i am no expert. what sort of salad would i pair this with? that lamb and spinach salad i mentioned above. or an appetizer size spinach, feta and heirloom tomatoes. maybe some walnuts. go crazy.}
wine pairing:
i’m of a mind to pair either an austrian gewurtztraminer or a spanish albarino with the tzatziki. keep in mind we didn’t have lamb with our meal, but if you did, i would recommend a bold pinot noir or a young malbec.
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