Tzatziki

Beginner Cook - Short Cooking Time - Appetizer - Side Dish - Vegetarian - Gluten-Free

Tzatziki is synonymous with Greek cooking and has a broad appeal as evidenced by the numerous brands of tzatziki dips available at grocery stores. While this tasty dip is a Greek cuisine staple, contrary to popular belief, we only eat it occasionally in our home. This may be due to the fact that real tzatziki, unlike the popularized store bought version, is loaded with raw garlic. For this recipe, I have reduced the garlic to a manageable amount. Also, you may notice that dill is not included in the list of ingredients. While fresh or dried dill can be added, our family recipe doesn't call for it.

As easy as it is to pick up a tub of tzatziki from the store, give this homemade recipe a try. You'll love the fresh cucumber!

Ingredients (yields 2 cups)

• 1 large cucumber
• 1 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 medium garlic clove
• 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt

Note: If you don't have vinegar on hand or want to try a slight variation of this recipe, you can substitute the vinegar with lemon juice

Time - 20 minutes

• Preparation - 20 minutes
  
• Cooking - 0 minutes
  

Preparation

• Peel and grate 1 large cucumber into a medium size bowl
• Once grated, you want to remove all of the excess liquid. Hold the bowl slightly titled over the sink with one hand and squeeze the grated cucumber with the other hand. Let the water expelled from the grated cucumber pour into the sink. After initially draining the excess liquid, you may want to let the cucumber rest for 2 minutes and start the process over again. Be sure to take your time with this step. If too much liquid is left in the cucumber, it will cause the tzatziki to be watery. Your large cucumber should yield approximately 1 cup of shredded cucumber as shown below

• Peel and press the garlic
• Combine the cucumber, garlic, yogurt, vinegar, and salt in the bowl
• Stir until all of the ingredients are blended

• You're tzatziki is ready! This dip keeps well in the refrigerator and the flavors will continue to develop so don't hesitate to double the recipe and enjoy for several days