Tzatziki
The cool counterpoint of the Greek table — thick strained yogurt loosened with cucumber, sharpened by raw garlic, and rounded with grassy olive oil. Get the cucumber dry and the garlic restrained, and it tastes of summer; get it wet or harsh, and it tastes of the fridge.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater (seed it first if watery). Toss the gratings with a third of the salt and let sit in a sieve for 15-20 minutes. Then gather the cucumber in a clean towel or your fists and squeeze hard, several times, until it stops releasing liquid. This is the single step that decides whether your tzatziki is a dip or a soup.
In a bowl, whisk the strained yogurt until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the garlic paste, the olive oil added in a slow stream, and the vinegar. The oil should disappear into the yogurt, giving it a faint sheen and a richer body. Taste the raw garlic now — it will mellow as it rests, so it should feel slightly too assertive at this moment.
Fold the dried cucumber and chopped dill into the garlic-yogurt base. Stir just until evenly distributed. Taste and adjust with the remaining salt and a splash more vinegar if it needs lift. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (ideally an hour) before serving — this rest is what marries the garlic into the whole and sets the texture. Finish with a thread of olive oil on top.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.