Tzatziki

Recipe video above. Nobody makes Tzatziki as good as your yiayia, but just in case you want to make one using actual measurements (rather than a little bit of this and a slosh of that!), here is my recipe. Use as a dip for vegetable sticks and warm pita bread, as a sauce for Gyros, Doner kebabs and chicken skewers, and dolloping on Greek baked chicken pieces.

Prep Time20

Cook Time6

Marinade3

Total Time26

Course: Dinner, Entertaining, Grilling, Lunch

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: Greek Chicken, greek chicken gryos, gyros, yogurt marinade

Servings:

Calories: 354cal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

2 Lebanese cucumbers (Persian cucumbers) , 20cm/8" long, to make about 1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded cucumber after squeezing out juice
1 1/4 cups Greek yoghurt or Greek-style yogurt, preferably full fat
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more if you want richer)
1 garlic clove , minced
1/4 heaped teaspoon cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
Pinch of black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped dill (or mint), OPTIONAL - see note

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Deseed, shred and squeeze - Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scrape the watery seeds out. Coarsely grate the cucumber using a box grater. Then wrap in a tea towel and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
Mix - Place cucumber in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients then mix to combine.
Set aside for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to meld.
Use immediately or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Notes

Recipe quantity note - I know using 1 1/4 cups yogurt is an odd amount, but it's because I make this most often to use as a sauce for things like Gyros wraps, and this recipe makes enough to serve 4 - 5 generously (which is what most of my recipes serve). Using 1 cup is just a little short, and using 2 cups results in too much left over, and it only keeps a few days.

Fresh dill or mint - If making as a dip, I recommend using one of these. If using as a sauce for a wrap, burger etc, I wouldn't make a special trip to the store for fresh herbs. I prefer dill over mint, though mint is lovely when making spicy-heavy Middle Eastern foods (like Chicken Shawarma).

Nutrition for whole batch.

Nutrition