Tzatziki

Recently, I went to dinner with friends to a Greek restaurant.  All of the food was good, but I especially loved the tzatziki.  For those of you who are uninitiated, tzatziki is a cucumber yoghurt sauce native to Greece (like Raitha in Indian cuisine).  It has a cooling effect that is great with highly seasoned food.  It's just delicious.

Also, and I am just being real here, it reminds me of the cucumber salad dressing my mom bought when we were kids.  Do you remember cucumber dressing?  This was before the days of Ranch.  Cucumber dressing was creamy and tasted like... cucumber.  Kraft makes a Cucumber Ranch dressing that is pretty close if you are interested.  

So, the same friends that I went to dinner with asked me to come and play cards last night.  It was to be one of those nights where everyone brings something snacky and  we all stay up too late playing cards.  It was just that!  (Side note-- have you ever played the card game "president"?)  Naturally, I decided to make a tzatziki as it was still fresh in my mind.  I found what looked like a good recipe here.  I didn't make any ingredient changes other than upping the garlic (duh!), but due to equipment (and lack thereof), I changed the procedure slightly.

Tzatziki

3 cups greek yoghurt (the really thick stuff)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves finely chopped (or mashed into a paste)

2 medium cucumbers seeded and finely grated

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle the grated cucumber with the tablespoon of salt.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes then drain off the liquid.  Squeeze the cucumber to get out most of the excess liquid.  Stir cucumber into yoghurt. Add lemon juice, garlic, dill salt and pepper.  Let the tzatziki chill for several hours (4 or 5 is great) for the flavors to develop. 

I served this with homemade pita chips, baby carrots and organic radishes.  It was really yummy!