Tzatziki Recipe
makes about 2½ cups, easily ratio'd up or down
Servings: 2 ½ cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups Greek yogurt see Notes if you can't find Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and lightly smashed
- 2 Persian cucumbers
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more for drizzling
- optional: 2-4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill and/or mint
- optional garnish for serving as dip: chopped fresh dill and/or mint
- serve with: vegetable crudites, grilled flatbread, just itself
Instructions
- Push smashed garlic cloves into yogurt and set aside.
- Finely dice cucumbers into the smallest pieces you can; I go for ⅛-inch, which is a little smaller than half a centimeter. It takes a long time for me to cut it this way and is almost pointless because the cucumber's shape is overwhelmed by the yogurt, but I do it anyway because I can.
- Toss the diced cucumbers with 1 teaspoon salt, put into a mesh strainer set over a bowl, and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to draw out as much water from the cucumbers as possible. You can also do this the night before and let the salted cucumbers sit in the strainer in the refrigerator. Some liquid will drain out on its own.
- Transfer the cucumbers to several layers of cheesecloth, a clean dish towel, or even a couple of layers of sturdy paper towel, gather up the corners and gently wring/press out as much remaining water from the cucumbers as possible.
- Stir the drained cucumbers, lemon juice, and olive oil into the yogurt. Cover and put in the refrigerator to allow the flavors (especially the garlic) to combine.
- When ready to serve, stir in the fresh chopped dill and or mint if using. Taste and adjust the salt. The tzatziki may not need any additional salt because of the salt already on the cucumbers.
- Remove the garlic cloves, and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with additional chopped fresh herbs.
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Notes
Tzatziki will keep in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days.