Fast and Easy Homemade Tzatziki
Tzatziki sauce has a fresh vibrant taste that is an ideal accompaniment to summer grill-outs. It is traditionally served cold with Greek and sometimes Turkish foods. Most Americans may know this sauce as the creamy, flavorful sauce that comes on gyros. But if you only eat tzatziki on gyros you are missing out! It works well with conventional greek tastes--such as lamb--but you'd be surprised how lovely it is on other grilled meats--especially beef tenderloin and chicken--and with grilled vegetable skewers.
Tzatziki was in a class of foods, like yogurt and crackers, that I had irrationally decided could only be made by commercial food companies. It just descended fully formed from on high, and landed on my grocery shelves. Somehow I had gone most of my life without even considering that I could make tzatziki at home myself. But once we gave it a try, I was shocked at how fast and easy it was to make this delicious and healthy sauce at home.
Best of all, nearly all the ingredients for tzatziki are growing in my backyard garden right now! So it is a perfect spring-harvest gardener's delight.
Tzatziki Sauce
Recipe from: Real Simple April 2011
1 Cup low fat Greek yogurt (plain)
1 cucumber, seeded and grated (about 1.25 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp, add more to taste)
pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp or 5 turns of the peppermill)
Combine all of the above in a small bowl. I like to allow it to sit for a bit in the fridge before serving, so the flavors can really permeate. Serve it cold with whatever your heart desires!
Note: Other tzatziki recipes include dill, parsley, or lemon juice, so you may also enjoy experimenting with adding these flavors.
6 comments:
I have got tzatziki on the brain! need to make some! thanks for sharing!
thanks...I recently tried a greek gyro for the first time and loved the yogurt sauce. I think I might try this with grilled chicken tonight!
Hi! I'm new to the BlogHer community and stumbled on your lovely site. Congrats on the nod from Saveur, that's fantastic!
I am a fiendish tzatziki lover - with dinners but also as a snack with fresh veggies. I love the recipe you've chosen here -- straightforward to highlight how simple and delicious this classic dip is.
I adore Tzatziki, and how easy it is to make. I always try to make it at least an hour and preferably a day in advance to allow the flavors to intensify. I serve it with my curry dishes of course, but also with everything else I make that might be potentially spicy for my guests because dairy is what cools a hot palate instantly.
The only thing I do differently from your recipe is that rather than use minced fresh garlic I skewer whole cloves of garlic (2 or more depending on how much you like) on a toothpick and submerge them into the sauce. I find that some people have problems eating raw garlic so the juice from the cloves is milder, and the toothpick helps me retrieve them before serving!
I also liberally salt the halved and seeded cucumber and let it rest on a paper towel so that the salt and paper pull out the excess moisture, making a less watery sauce.
Just before serving I add lemon juice and fresh dill to brighten it.
Thank you for bringing this wonderful delectable accent dish to your gourmet-loving readers!
Thank you for this recipe! Tzatziki is one of my favorite sauces, but every recipe I have made at home never tasted right. This one is delicious.
After spending 10 years living in Greece, we are big Tzatziki fans and it looks like you've got the recipe just right to us. Ideally, you should have it by the gallon too :-)
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