Many of us have been enjoying Tzatziki for years and simply didn’t realize it! It’s something I reach for more and more as we strive for healthier approaches to our eating styles. My first exposure was when I acquired a huge passion for gyros. Yet, I still didn’t reach out and think, ‘Oh, I could be making this dressing/sauce for other uses.’ Before I set into writing my own recipe I spent a great deal of time reading the history and many success and failure stories. That’s how I work as a chef/writer. I do the same thing with floral arranging. If I’m working on something new I totally create it in my mind before it ever reaches the pen or computer. The last thing I did after much research was I purchased a rather high quality pre-made version and went about eating it in different applications.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy this refreshing dish is as a dip. A couple of nights I came home from work and had fresh carrots dipped in tzatziki. It was perfect! It can go on a summer sandwich, it can become a dressing. Do any of you make the cucumber marinate with sour cream, bit of sugar, vinegar, dill etc.? Did you ever think of it as a form of Tzatziki dressing? Well, it actually is!
This is going to be a yogurt based recipe, and the quality of yogurt that you purchase is going to be very important. I used a good quality that stated right on the label that it had been ‘strained;’ 3 times to remove access liquid, and it stated how ‘creamy’ it was. Even though it stated how creamy it was I still strained it before entering it into the recipe. And yes, some people do reach for sour cream versus Greek plain yogurt. Is that wrong, nope, you do what your taste buds like best. If you set down with the ingredients of Greek Yogurt and Sour Cream you will actually find there isn’t that much difference except for calories and fat content Greek yogurt has less fat, and a much higher protein content. Greek yogurt has been strained to remove the whey. I.E. When I use sour cream I frequently stir the liquid/whey back into the sour cream. Greek Yogurt also has the bonus of probiotics.
There are times when I can tell right away if someone is using sour cream or Greek yogurt, and there are times when it’s a toss up. The history of Tzatziki has roots in both Greek and Turkish cultures dating w—a—y back there. The name comes from the Turkish word, ‘cacik’ which mean yogurt soup.
In general Tzatziki is the most famous dish to come from the Greek culture. It can contain a variety of spices like dill & mint. The sample I purchased a couple of weeks ago was Parmesan/spinach tzatziki.
Let’s chat cucumbers for a moment. This is where I feel a great deal of mistakes are made. First; let me just say if you see me purchasing cucumbers in the store it will most likely be an English Cuke, or the small baby cukes used in pickling, you know the ones packaged with 5-7 in a sealed bag. (Pickling Cumbers) Why, am I so particular? Generally regular store cucumbers are allowed to get extremely large, this also means massive size seeds. If you’ve gardened much in your life you know allowing cukes to get too big is a mistake. The larger the cucumber becomes the more chance of some serious indigestion, high water content and less crispiness. Anyone with reflux will tell you how they cannot eat these cucumbers. They are also very moisture filled. (Live in a small town and can only get giant cucumbers, at least deseed them before putting on salads.)
With large cucumbers comes very large seeds, cucumber seeds contain an amino acid called; a cucurbitacin. This compound also gives off a bitter taste. (Starting to make some sense now?) The compound can also cause digestive distress, thus why some folks only eat them early in the day.
So when I went about preparing the small cukes or English cucumber for the recipes I did the following: First; I left all the skins on after washing, then I removed all the seeds before grating the cuke. I pressed it through a sieve quite a bit with a tool or my hand. When I felt it was squeezed dry I
then put it into a clean paper towel or a tea towel and allowed it to set while more moisture was drawn out. Remember we are trying to keep the dish from having any water sitting in it.
Another thing I do in order to watch the liquid content is I use lemon zest; where as many use lemon juice. I want this sauce tight, no runny stuff.
OK, I’ve given you lots of tips and insight into a good outcome on this recipe. It would be yummy on your Easter table served with fresh vegies, especially for the little ones. Good for the lunchbox or an upcoming car trip! How about this idea: I love eggplant sandwiches with greens, cheese, tomato, herbs and the like. The tzatziki would be delicious in this Sammie! Simply yours, The Covered Dish.
Debbie’s Tzatziki Sauce
16 ounces of a creamy, plain Greek yogurt.
mini cukes (sold in a bag with 5-7 per bag) Or an English cucumber, grated, drained well-
(Leave green skins on cucumber remove all seeds.)
3 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh minced dill or 1 teaspoon dry dill
1-2 tablespoons crumbled, or grated Parmesan cheese
Half zested lemon, average lemon, mine was rather large!
Salt, ½ teaspoon for draining cucumber and an additional ½ teaspoon for recipe as a whole.
Pepper, ¼ teaspoon to start.
Aleppo ( Ah, leh po) Pepper Flakes ,1-2 pinches
Only 1 bowl is needed to make this dish.
Pour yogurt into a small mesh strainer, to remove any runny whey. (A coffee filter worked for me.)
Take washed cucumber and grate them on a box grater. Using a utensil push as much liquid from the cukes as possible. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain on a couple of paper towels, cheese cloth or a tea towel also a good things to strain. While cucumber sits with salt on it (pulls moisture out) add all remaining ingredients except the Aleppo pepper flakes.
Press as much moisture out of the grated cucumbers and add them to the mix. Add the Aleppo pepper flakes one pinch at a time, stir and sample. With one pinch I couldn’t tell there was any present.
What to serve with it:. Fish, chicken, kabobs, gyros, pita chips, vegetable sticks, fries, zucchini or cabbage fritters or salmon patties I’m using mine this week on cabbage fritters. Last week I enjoyed it with carrot and cucumber sticks. Very refreshing.
Aleppo pepper sometimes called Halaby pepper brings a unique flavor with a mild, slow—building heat. It tastes a little fruity, with raisin-like notes, sun dried tomatoes and subtle cumin undertones.
Used frequently in Mediterranean style foods. Add the first pinch in this recipe, then sample before adding the second pinch.
Additional ingredients to add to your Tzatziki Sauce:
Avocado, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, finely minced spinach, finely chopped artichoke,
red onion, green onion, Parmesan Asiago or feta cheese-
