The Greeks know how to make seriously good food.
Crispy yet crumbly falafels with a tangy cucumber yogurt sauce is so simple, healthy, and easy to make restaurant-quality at home.
Easy and simple does not always mean quick, however. The secret to the very best falafel is skipping the cans of chickpeas and using dried beans that are soaked overnight. This creates a crumbly yet cohesive texture that you just will not get from canned or cooked beans.
If you are in a hurry, canned or cooked will work, but you will be missing out.
This recipe from J Kenji Lopez-Alt is not my own and for once, I didn’t alter someone else’s because it is just perfect. And that’s saying a lot coming from me!
The only thing I do differently is skip the frying and bake the falafels instead at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes, turning once in the middle of baking.
For the tzatziki sauce, I use this recipe, subbing my non-dairy soy yogurt for the Greek yogurt. I like to squeeze out some of the water from my yogurt in a thin cloth for a few minutes to get a nice, thick texture.
It tastes even better if you allow it to chill in the fridge a few hours before serving.
For the salad, I had to find a Greek dressing recipe and I used this easy-to-whip up recipe from the Detoxinista. I like to limit oil as much as possible, so I just used a splash instead of the quarter cup.
For dinner, we rolled everything up into a tortilla, piled on more tzatziki and had the most delicious wraps. My husband said it was as good as anything we could order in our local Greek restaurant.
You might want to go ahead and double the recipes, because you will be definitely wanting more soon!