Imagine yourself sitting at a table in a restaurant in Greece. The sea air gently blowing in from the open windows. A server walks up to your table and with a big smile puts a bowl of freshly grilled pita bread and homemade Tzatziki down for you to enjoy. You tear apart a piece of the pita and dip it into the Tzatziki as your mouth waters in anticipation. The first taste of the Tzatziki and bread turns on all your senses. It is pleasantly sour, herbaceous, fresh-tasting, and creamy. You enjoy the rest of the dip and bread with a nice glass of wine looking out over the ocean a million miles away from any worries or cares.
I can’t fly you to Greece, and I can’t make all your cares and worries go away. What I can do, is share with you how to make the best Tzatziki you’ll ever have. Then maybe with an open window and a bit of imagination, you can create the rest of the experience.
So, what are the secrets to the best Tzatziki ever? Let’s take a look.
This is how to…
Master Tzatziki In 5 Simple Steps
What is Tzatziki?
I guess there might be some people out there who don’t actually know what Tzatziki is. Essentially it is a yogurt dip made with cucumber, herbs, garlic, and lemon. That’s really about it. It is great with chicken, pork, lamb, bread, vegetables, wraps…you name it Tzatziki goes with it.
Now that we all know what it is let’s break down how to make it.
Step 1 – Cucumber
One of the main ingredients in Tzatziki is cucumber. It is generally grated on a cheese grater, salted, left to sit for 20 minutes or so, and then squeezed. The purpose behind all of this is to extract moisture from the cucumber. If we skip this step our Tzatziki will end of watery which is not at all what we want.
Take an English cucumber and cut a piece that equals about a quarter of the length of the cucumber. Wash it, pat it dry, and grate it into a bowl on the large grater setting of a cheese grater. Add 1/8 tsp Kosher or Sea Salt. It is best not to use table salt here as table salt is terrible. Mix the salt and cucumber together, place in a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl for about 20 minutes.
Once 20 minutes have passed come back to the grated cucumber and squeeze out any excess juice. The cucumber is now ready to use.
If you plan on keeping the Tzatziki in the fridge for more than a day or two it is best to remove the seeds from the cucumber. The seeds go bad quickly. Cut the quarter cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Now grate and salt the cucumber as you normally would.
Step 2 – Herbs
Pretty much everyone puts dill in their Tzatziki, but what most people miss is the mint. It may seem like a very strange combination, but mint and dill actually work really well together in this application. That little hint of mint will take a decent Tzatziki and make it amazing. Don’t leave it out!
For our Tzatziki which will be about 1 cup in total, we want about 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill and 2 tsp chopped fresh mint.
Step 3 – Garlic
Tzatziki without garlic is no tzatziki at all. Having said that, we don’t want to be biting into a big chunk of garlic. It is best to purée the garlic or chop it as fine as you can.
We are going to use 2 cloves or about 2 tsp chopped or puréed garlic.
Step 4 – Yogurt
When cooking Greek food it is always best to use Greek yogurt. The main difference between Greek yogurt and other types is that Greek yogurt is strained to allow moisture to drain off. This gives Greek yogurt a creamier texture and a slightly more intense flavour.
Take about 3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt and mix it with the cucumber, herbs, and garlic from earlier. Just like that, your Tzatziki is done…no, of course, it’s not. We still have…
Step 5 – Finishing Touches
Our Tzatziki is almost done but it is missing two critical ingredients. These are the two not so secret ingredients in just about all Greek food, lemon, and olive oil.
It is very important that we use high-quality olive oil to avoid any bitter flavours. For out 1 cup of Tzatziki we should use 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice.
Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the other ingredients, mix it up, give it a taste and adjust the seasoning with a bit more lemon, and a touch of salt as needed. Use the Tzatziki right away or store in the fridge covered, for 3-5 days.
Conclusion
Tzatziki is a favourite of a lot of people and as you can see it is not difficult to make at all. It works well with so many things and can be eaten just as it is with some vegetables or bread to dip in it.
If you are currently buying Tzatziki, stop now. You don’t need to do that anymore. You can make a batch of this once a week and you are good to go.
I know that some people add red onion to their Tzatziki but I prefer to leave it out as I find it doesn’t really add anything. But, if you want to add a bit of red onion, go for it.
And that does it. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did please check out my amazon store. If you go there and see something you were going to buy anyway, buy it from there. I get a few cents from every dollar spent and that goes right back into the blog to help me buy ingredients and equipment.
Thanks, everyone!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 tsp Puréed Garlic
- 1 tbsp Chopped Fresh Dill
- 2 tsp Chopped Fresh Mint
- 1/4 cup Grated Cucumber
- 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1-2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- Salt
Instructions
- Mix the grated cucumber with 1/8 tsp salt and place in a mesh sieve. Set over a bowl for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes squeeze any excess moisture out of the cucumber and add to the yogurt.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Season to taste lemon juice and salt.
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