Tzatziki Sauce - Τζατζίκι

So many times people tell me that they make the best tzatziki in the world but in reality their recipe spells disaster.

The yogurt and cucumber MUST be strained because they contain a lot of extra liquid that makes a soggy tzatziki sauce and has a strange feeling when you eat it. Pay attention and continue reading.

This recipe is authentic and easily made.

May I whine a little? Who was the ad wizard that created all these "Greek" yogurt products? They have NOTHING TO DO WITH GREECE AND GREEK YOGURT. These products taste terrible and they have nothing to do with Greek yogurt.

There is one problem with tzatziki sauce, though. It has garlic and I strongly suggest to stay away from it if you are planning on a hot date later on that day or meeting you boss for the first time after eating it.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• one medium cucumber
• ONE medium garlic clove - if you are planing on a hot date (good luck)
• or TWO medium garlic cloves if you just don't give a hoot
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup of dill. 

Feel free to multiply these ingredients if you are planning for several side dishes.

Start with the plain yogurt...

Important: Strain the yogurt for 30 minutes...

Take a peek at the liquid left in the bowl just a few minutes later...

Peel the cucumber and cut it in half. Using a teaspoon remove the seeds. Grab your favorite grater and use the side with the fine blades to grate the cucumber. Do not use any large portion of the cucumber that may escape the grater.

Important: You want to drain the liquid from the cucumber pulp too. Add a dash of salt to accelerate the process. 

 A minute later the results are clear... Let this drain for 30 minutes too.

I bought a bunch of dill from the supermarket...

to use for the tzatziki sauce. I diced about a 1/4 cup.

WARNING: using two cloves of garlic will be the coup de grâce of your first date. Take it easy.

Half hour has passed and we mix the ingredients together. Here is the yogurt and cucumber,

 dill and garlic, without forgetting the vinegar and olive oil.

Here is the final product in a bowl getting ready to go in the refrigerator.

You will serve the tzatziki sauce in a shallow dish. Add 3-4 olives and drizzle just a tiny amount of olive oil. Done!

I used the tzatziki sauce with my grilled souvlaki I made one evening. Yum!

Happy eating.