Greek Tzatziki Recipes

Steps:

• Stir together olive oil, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl and let sit while you prepare the cucumber.
• Peel cucumber and cut in half lengthways; scrape out all the seeds. Grate cucumber with a cheese grater into a sieve set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Strain out as much liquid as possible by pressing down in the sieve with the palm of your hand. Alternately you can wring cucumber out in a clean tea towel. Add cucumber and yogurt to the garlic mixture. Mix until well combined and season with salt to taste.

Steps:

• Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth or paper towel-lined sieve and set it over a bowl. Grate the cucumber and toss it with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt; place it in another sieve, and set it over another bowl. Place both bowls in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours so the yogurt and cucumber can drain.
• Transfer the thickened yogurt to a large bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as you can and add the cucumber to the yogurt. Mix in the sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. You can serve it immediately, but I prefer to allow the tzatziki to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours for the flavors to blend. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Stir together yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Add lemon zest, dill, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth. Pour into a serving dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Steps:

• Mix everything together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. (Can be made a day ahead.) Try it drizzled over slow-cooked Greek lamb with chickpea salad.

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Steps:

• Just mix everything up together until it is all blended and the oil has emulsified into the yoghurt/sour cream. Taste for seasoning, and add salt if you think necessary. Put in a resealable container.
• Allow to 'sit' in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours before using to allow the flavors to come out.
• This wonderful meze (we do not think of it as a sauce here- it is a thick 'salata') is used to counterpoint rich, bbq'd meats (like souvlaki/shish kebab), but can be used in more diverse ways.
• Place a small plate full on your dinner table for people to scoop up small amounts onto their bread (preferably crisp-baked pita).
• Fry up some zucchini or eggplant slices (dredge in flour and fried in olive oil) and serve with a dollop of tzatziki on top.
• Use as a salad dressing.
• A dip for crudites.
• Note: If I have time, I often lightly salt the grated cucumber and put in a colander to drain, then squeeze out water as per usual. This eliminates even more water.

Steps:

• Place yogurt in a coffee filter or piece of cheesecloth, and place in a strainer over a dish. Let drain for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. If using Greek yogurt you do not need to drain it, as it is already a thick consistency.
• Meanwhile, put the chopped or grated cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove liquid. Discard liquid. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and mix into the cucumber. Set aside 20 minutes. Rinse a little to wash out the extra salt, if you want to. Then squeeze again to express as much liquid as possible.
• Draining the yogurt and cucumber make for a thick and authentic consistency of tzatziki sauce.
• Combine the drained yogurt and cucumber, sour cream, pinch of salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mint and garlic. Note: we love garlic, so I tried adding more once. It made for an overpowering and almost bitter taste, so now I stick to only 1 clove.
• Place sauce in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more to meld flavors. Stir before serving. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Steps:

• Grate cucumbers and allow to drain in a sieve, weighted by a heavy plate, for 15 minutes.
• Wrap grated cucumbers in cheesecloth to squeeze all remaining liquid out.
• Set grated cucumbers in a mixing bowl.
• Place garlic cloves in a mortar and sprinkle with a little salt.
• Grind into a paste and add mixture to cucumbers.
• Whisk together yogurt, vinegar, pepper, mint, and oil.
• Add yogurt mixture to cucumbers and garlic and mix all together thoroughly.
• Refrigerate until needed.