The first time I ever tasted tzatziki was…exactly last year. I was in St. Louis at my roommate’s aunt’s house and she had made up some. Being the good hostess that she always is, she wanted to make sure we had some dinner in our bellies before we got some sleep. For me, she had some grilled veggies to enjoy and then she pulled out this bowl of tzatziki. And I was hooked. I would find something, anything, to dip into it or put it on top of. Delicious!
And while I always said I was going to make it myself…I never did. But with an overabundance of cucumbers in my crisper drawer, my roommate made the suggestion herself. Make tzatziki.
And so…that’s exactly what I did.
Recipe: Tzatziki
Servings: 16
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Mixing 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) tub of plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani 0% Plain)
1 large English cucumber, seeds removed
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 of a red onion, finely minced
1 tsp kosher salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1-1/2 tsp dried dill
juice & zest of 1 small lemon
Directions:
Grate the cucumber and place it in a mesh strainer and position the strainer above a bowl. Use a large spoon to press out all the water from the cucumber. Sprinkle a bit of salt over top the cucumber to let the water out quicker or just wait it out.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, dill and spices together. Add in the thick yogurt and stir well.
Stir in the cucumber and lemon zest.
Add in the juice of half of the lemon, stir and taste. If it needs more tang, add more juice. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Dip and enjoy!
~*~*~
This version had a bit more heat behind it than I normally would think of tzatziki as having. But it works. And I felt the flavors balanced out beautifully. Even the roomie, who isn’t a fan of cucumbers, said she loved it. And she wasn’t just being nice. She just helped me plan out tomorrow’s dinner around the taztziki. And she even mentioned me making more of it. So, I think the recipe is a win.
The Celiathlete 