Tzatziki at home

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

giggler

Sous Chef
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
713
Location
Austin, TX.
1. I got the greek yougurt.. what a chore! there must be 500 types of yougurt at the grocery.. it's 2percent but a nice lady helped explain unflavored to me..

2. I've read many recipes, and the spices are strange.. should I use dill, very German to me..

I have parsley in the garden, but to me that would make Green Goddess..

I have greek oregano and garlic..

I also have a bottle of Cavender's all pupose Greek Seasoning...


3. bought 2 regular Cucumbers, I guess peel and seed those. i don't have a food processor, but I could put them thru the box grater..

This sure does sound like my Mothers German Cucumber Salat to me!

Eric, Austin Tx.
 
There are lots of variations of tzatziki, but this one is simple, tasty, and doesn't need a food processor. You can add other herbs, such as parsley, mint, oregano. You can increase or decrease the garlic and lemon juice to preference. Greek yogurt is thicker and doesn't usually need to be drained, but that's also optional.



Tzatziki

Ingredients
1 cup non-fat yogurt - (If using Greek yogurt, skip step 1.)
1/2 cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
½ Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
¼ tsp salt

Procedure
1. Drain yogurt overnight in a coffee filter in the refrigerator.

2. Peel, seed, grate, and drain the cucumber. Squeeze it as dry as you can, then mince it finely.

3. Combine all the ingredients, then set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
 
Don't overthink this. If you have unflavored Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic, you are good to go. Those are the dominant flavors, the other things just enhance it a bit. As Silversage pointed out, get as much water out of the cucumber as possible. Just seed the cucumbers before you use the box grater. I have Greek oregano in the herb garden, and it works just fine.

And yes, it's very similar to cucumbers and sour cream.
 
here is my recipe.(from The Frugal Gourmet cookbook

1 pint plain yogurt
1 unpeeled cucumber chopped fine ( I use an English cucumber)
1 large clove garlic crushed or grated
1/2 cup good olive oil
Juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
1 tsp. salt
Parsley

To the yogurt, add all ingredients except parsley. Blend well with a fork. Top with parsley. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
 
Erik, I would go with a little oregano and some Cavenders. I personally am not much of a dill person, and even though it's in lots of recipes, I omit it. Also I sometimes esp in summer snip in some mint instead of oregano. You could use part of a peppermint tea bag, it's the same thing, if you have peppermint tea in the house. Or not. When using dry herbs, make the tzatkiki ahead of serving time, so the flavors meld.

Good luck with your dinner this weekend.
 
I use a recipe similar to SS but I salt the grated cucumber (I use a whole one) after grating (on the box grater) and let it sit for a while in a colander and then squeeze dry. Do use fresh dill and not dried, you can strip the fronds and freeze the feathery parts for later use BTW. It keeps for ages wrapped in plastic in a plastic bag in the freezer.

Also remember you can always add more but you can't take away as far as the garlic, salt and dill. My BIL loved, absolutely loved garlic and decided he'd add extra to his tzatzik, bad, bad, bad plan. It was awful. He had to basically triple or quadruple all the rest of the ingredients for it to taste right.
 
Last edited:
Only thing I do differently, is Ill use lemon zest instead of the juice, to allow for a thicker Consistency. Definitely squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible of the cucumbers. Personally, I like the dill.
 
I made tzatziki yesterday for a talk I gave on culinary herbs. I peeled and seeded the cucumber, grated it in the food processor, then left it in the FP bowl while I mixed the rest of the ingredients, then squeezed most of the liquid out before adding it to the yogurt mixture. Took about 15 minutes - that's plenty of time to drain it.
 
I've been a fan of Greek and Middle Eastern food for donkey's years, and this recipe was given to me by a delightful Greek lady when I went to Greece in 1971 and have used it ever since:

2 small cucumbers - different from the longer ones as they don't contain so much liquid.salt
Fresh garlic finely hand chopped, quantities to taste.
3/4 pint thick Greek yogurt
White pepper, ground
3 - 5 tbsp chopped and crushed fresh mint leaves, according to taste
2tbsp best quality Greek olive oil.

Sprinkle the cucumber with the salt, and leave in a colander to drain for at least 1/2 hour. Crush the garlic with the salt, taste and adjust to your own liking. Mix a few tbsp yogurt with the garlic, add to the rest of the garlic, then add it all to the yogurt. Taste and adjust the seasoning to yur own taste. Then add the chopped mint and a few drops of lemon juice, stir well and serve. I've never come across a recipe for tzatziki with herbs other than mint - but the world is a funny old place, and you never know what other people have come across, or whether it works. I only know that the above recipe works for me and that's what I stick to.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde



di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast
 
Supermarket Yogurt displays are 97% lies, with all the Chobani sugar-laden nonsense. Look for the word "Plain" and hope it means what it says. I half-peel English cukes, first laying the slices out on paper towels to lose the extra liquid, and grind all the spices. Fresh dill is not optional, and should be the prominent flavour. Important to chill.
 
Back
Top Bottom