I’m making baked falafel right now. I want to serve it with something, but Tzatziki Sauce isn’t an option, since I loathe cucumber. (Not allergic or anything, but I can’t stand the flavor)
What if I blend the hell out of some celery and substitute it for the cucumber?
If not, any other idea for what kinda sauce goes with falafel?
A little yogurt or sour cream and minced garlic (scallions?) will work.
Raita would work. Or runny hummus.
Simply omit the cucumber. Take some full fat greek yogurt, add some minced garlic, mint (optional but I love it with falafel), lemon juice, fresh dill, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix well and let it sit for an hour or so to let the flavors meld.
You can add a pinch of cayenne if you like.
Also, you might want to try a small tiny batch with the cukes, the trick to good tzatsiki is to grate the cucumber, salt it, and let it drain for an hour. Then you press all the water out of it with a tea towel. The flavor and texture is quite different from fresh cucumber.
I wouldn’t use celery, it’s too strong a flavor. Perhaps zucchini grated and prepped as above would give you the texture you are looking for.
I don’t have any cuke on hand (I really, REALLY hate the stuff’s taste), but hell, cucumber is cheap, I’ll give that a try. 
Zucchini (to me) and most summer squashes have a similar to cucumber taste–I don’t much like them either. 
To me, celery has a pretty mild taste compared to cucumber.
As an aside, based on what I had on hand, I went with Kite’s solution–used onion and garlic though.
I think the bigger problem with celery would be all the little fibers. Even if you “shave” the outer lay er off, it’s still got a lot of them, and it’s hard to get them to blend into a smooth sauce.
Greek yogurt…
So I’m wondering if it was suitable. I liked Mike’s idea of adding a pinch of cayenne.
the real question is …why would you use tsatziki on falafel? tsatziki is greek and falafel is lebanese or middle eastern. The toppings used on falafel are commonly hummus and tahini.
That’s fusion cuisine. Or at least it was two years ago.
Rather than cucumbers substitute purreed iceberg lettuce perhaps?
Side question: How do you feel about Watermelon, Honeydew, and cantaloupe?
This one, with maybe some onion and/or tomato, too. The sitting time is important.
These would have been my suggestion.
Because it tastes good.
Yep! We all know ranch dressing goes on a sald, but not ONLY a salad!
Yeah, I missed this thread the first time around, but I was thinking a tahini-yogurt sauce. I don’t think I’ve ever had tzatziki with my falafel.
Since this is a zombie, I’ll hijack it another direction. If you get tired of plain old Ranch dressing, try making some up and adding a little BBQ sauce to the mix. Gives it a totally different spin.
Heretic!