I decided to make falafel later today (beans have been soaking overnight) so ordered the bleu cheese dressing I prefer with them… but the store was out.
I planned to serve with a Med salad (kalamatas, artichoke, peppers, Giardiniera and tomato). Pantry/fridge has the typical stuff (oils, vins, mayo, mustard, ketchup, BBQ, teriyaki) but my minds gone blank on a sauce.
Any ideas?
If you have yogurt (unflavored, either regular or Greek) or sour cream, start with that as a base. Add garlic, S&P, and then dig into your seasonings to mix and match whatever suits your cravings today. Dill, lemon juice, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, whatever. Channel your inner Mad Scientist until it rings the flavor bell.
access to tahini would be clutch in this moment.
Right? That’s the sauce I get pretty much anywhere falafel is served. Much as I like blue cheese, I don’t think I’d want it anywhere near falafel.
Yogurt, tahini, lemon, garlic, maybe a little sumac is really all you need.
I make my own tahini, but I am out of sesame seeds (they are hard to find up here at a reasonable price since Bob’s red mill stopped shipping direct). No yogurt either.
Could you pick some up?
I could… but not really planning on going out today (hence the delivery order this morning).
Lemon Juice, Garlic, Olive Oil & little Toasted Sesame Oil.
You could also add a few of your Chickpeas or some Pine, Cashew or Raw Peanut to help emulsify and thicken.
Ok… I’m done. Safeway is also out of every tahini but their weakest/priciest brand (O-Organics). I am gonna freeze the soaked chickpeas for another day and do some shrimp.
Sour cream.
Or cole slaw.
Some Israeli restaurants have coleslaw as a falafel in a pita topping.
Mayo mixed with lemon juice.
I was thinking about soaked chickpea storage as I read this thread. I’m wondering how long they’d be good for after soaking, if drained and refrigerated? Or even if left in the soaking liquid and refrigerated? (On this latter one, I have the notion that once they’ve soaked, they don’t continue to soak up/soften more, other than maybe a small amount).
Anyway, I think they’d be good (drained) in the fridge for a week or so, with the primary culprit being eventual mold growth?
Just kind of spitballing. I’ve never frozen soaked chickpeas and wonder if they will get mushy. Of course, if you done it before with no issues, uh, “carry on”, as they say in the movies!
ETA - FWIW, I don’t make falafel as often as you do, but my usual sauce is much like others mention here - yogurt with a minor amount of sour cream and (sometimes) also a minor amount of tahini, some of your COR EVOO, bit of dill (and mint if I have it), garlic, and some lemon juice and zest (if I have it). Pretty much the only thing missing from my tzatziki is the shredded cuke, and sometimes I just use tzatziki itself for falafel, especially if I’m making Greek pillow-style pitas and for serving falafel wrap sanwiches.
My understanding is that at about 48 hours they will start to ferment, which is why I popped them in the freezer. I have frozen raw falafel before with great results, but this is the first time I have frozen just the chickpeas. It was only a half-cup of dry, but didn’t want to just toss them.
My only reservation might be they are a bit too watery when thawed, but I can adjust for that when making the falafel with a bit more flour.
Originally, my sauce for these was toasted sesame seeds and EVOO popped in the vitamix 'till creamy… then lemon juice, garlic, cumin, fresh herbs, S&P, and warm water to get to the texture I wanted. But the Bob’s bleu cheese has seriously grown on me with the salads I serve falafel with.
Do you have peanuts or cashews? You could make a peanut or cashew sauce that would be a fine sub for tahini sauce. Or a chutney with some of your tomatoes.
Can you purchase ready-made hummus or baba ganoush or garlic yogurt sauce or a cilantro salsa?
i try to keep a container of trader joe’s garlic dip in the fridge. just like the toum you get at middle eastern restaurants.
