Falafel Pitas with Vegan Tzatziki

Falafel Pitas with Vegan Tzatziki

Before taking the plunge into workweek veganism, I frequently prepared chicken souvlaki pitas with tzatziki sauce as a go-to weeknight meal.  But I thought there was no way a vegan version of tzatziki could be as tasty, so sadly, Mediterranean pitas fell out of favor as a dinner option at our house.  But I was happy to discover recently that the Durham Harris Teeter has a large selection of vegan items, including a very enticing package of falafel balls.  Now, could I make falafel from scratch myself? Yes.  Is that the first thing on my agenda for a busy Monday night? No.  Sometimes you just need a little assistance from a pre-made product to get your weeknight dinner rolling.  The siren song of the falafel was only ringing more persistently in my ears once my eyes settled on a tub of vegan sour cream close by, just waiting to be bought.  Should I tempt fate with a vegan version of tzatziki sauce?  Friends, I am happy to say I did and with great success.  Following my normal recipe for tzatziki sauce- other than the substitution of vegan sour cream for Greek yogurt- a delicious and dairy-free accompaniment for the falafel pitas was born, and our family's love affair with Mediterranean food continues. Veni, vidi, vici.

Falafel Pitas with Vegan Tzatziki
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 Store-bought whole wheat pitas
Store-bought package of 12 falafel balls (I used Veggie Patch brand) or homemade (please share your recipe if you have one!)
2 cups Mixed Greens 
2 red tomatoes, sliced
2 cups vegan tzatziki sauce, recipe follows:

For the sauce:
2 cups vegan sour cream (I used Vegan Gourmet's brand, which had a nice tangy but neutral flavor)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 hot house cucumber, peeled and cubed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried oregano or 1 1/2 tsp fresh
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp salt + 1 tsp pepper

Vegan Tzatziki sauce made with Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream

Directions: About half an hour before you plan to eat, combine all the ingredients for the tzatziki sauce in a medium-sized bowl and whisk with a fork,  I find that tzatziki sauce takes quite a bit of salt so you may need to add more than I have called for above.  Let the tzatziki sauce cool in the refrigerator while the rest of the dish comes together.  Wrap your pitas in aluminum foil and heat in an oven or toaster oven heated to 350 degrees, until warmed through.  At the same time, reheat your falafel balls on a greased cookie sheet until cooked through or until the center is warm-this may take about 8-10 minutes.  Flip the balls once half-way through the reheating time.  Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry your mixed greens, slice your tomatoes and plate them on a large platter leaving room for the falafel and pitas. Place the bowl of vegan tzatziki on the table with a large spoon for self-serving.  Let everyone prepare their falafel pitas to taste at the table.

This is the kind of meal that can be easily diversified so that all appetites are satisfied: vegan, vegetarian and omnivore:

Vegetarian non-vegan option:  If you double the amounts of ingredients for the tzatziki sauce, you can make a traditional tzatziki sauce at the same time as the vegan version,  using plain Greek yogurt in place of the vegan sour cream.

Free-for-All option:  While vegetarians and vegans can all nosh on the falafel, omnivores may enjoy chicken souvlaki: marinate a pound of white meat chicken in 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of one lemon, 3 crushed and chopped garlic cloves and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.  After about half an hour of marinating, the chicken will be ready to be grilled (any time longer than an hour and it will begin to poach in the lemon juice).  Once it has come off the grill, slice the chicken into pieces that will fit neatly into the pitas.