Tzatziki Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce Food

BEST TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Working with one big handful at a time, lightly squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink to remove excess moisture. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a serving bowl, and repeat with the remaining cucumber.
• Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Taste and add additional chopped fresh herbs, lemon juice, and/or salt, if necessary (I thought this batch was just right as-is).
• Serve tzatziki immediately or chill for later. Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.

GREEK YOGURT-CUCUMBER SAUCE - GERMAN TSATSIKI

Steps:

• If you do not have Greek yogurt (very thick yogurt), line a colander with paper towels and place plain yogurt into it. Cover with more paper towels to drain excess liquid for 15 minutes or longer.
• Shred half a cucumber, place in a colander, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste and let sit for 15 minutes. Press excess liquid out.
• In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese, shredded and pressed cucumber, 2 minced cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The longer it sits, the more the garlic melds with the other ingredients. If the sauce looks runny, stir the liquid back in.
• The German presentation is to garnish with sprigs of fresh dill or chopped fresh dill or drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil over the dish.

TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Toss cucumbers with a few generous pinches of salt in a small bowl; firmly squeeze several times with your hands to release excess water. Drain.
• Mix cucumbers, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, and garlic in a medium bowl; season with salt. Let sit at room temperature until tzatziki tastes garlicky, 15-20 minutes; discard garlic. Stir in mint just before serving.
• Do Ahead
• Tzatziki (without mint) can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Use a box grater to manually grate the cucumbers or you can use a small food processor to finely chop the cucumbers as I do in this recipe. Toss the grated cucumbers with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Spoon the grated cucumber into a cheese cloth or a double thickness napkin and squeeze dry. (There will be a lot of liquid).
• In one large mixing bowl, place the garlic with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, white vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix to combine.
• Add the grated cucumber to the bowl with the garlic mixture. Stir in the yogurt, and a pinch of white or black pepper, and the fresh herbs (if using. I did not use fresh herbs in the video). Stir to combine well.
• Cover and refrigerate for a bit (anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours before serving). This will help thicken the sauce and give it the best texture, while allowing the flavors to meld.
• When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with your favorite veggies, pita chips or wedges (be sure to read the post for more ideas on how to use this sauce)!

TZATZIKI (GREEK CUCUMBER-YOGURT SAUCE)

Steps:

• In an airtight container (that can hold 2 cups), combine the yogurt, salt, and the garlic.
• Peel the cucumber, and remove the seeds if they are large. Finely chop the cucumber.
• Squeeze the cucumber bits to get rid of any excess liquid, then add it to the yogurt.
• Stir in the dill, pepper, and the vinegar. Mix thoroughly.
• Cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

TZATZIKI (GREEK YOGURT CUCUMBER SAUCE) - WW CORE

Steps:

• Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds. Grate coarsely. Put the grated cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. If you're concerned about salt, rinse the cucumber and squeeze again.
• Peel and mince the garlic. I love garlic, so you may want to use a little less.
• Mix the cucumber, garlic, and yogurt. Let sit for a bit to mingle the flavors.
• Optional: Add olive oil and or minced fresh dill.

CHEF JOHN'S TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Sprinkle grated cucumber with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and let stand 10 to 15 minutes to draw out juice.
• Place yogurt into a separate bowl. Dump cucumber and its juice onto a sturdy, dry paper or cloth towel and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the cucumber. Mix cucumber into yogurt. Add garlic, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice; mix thoroughly.
• Stir dill and mint into yogurt-cucumber mixture; season with salt and black pepper. Adjust all seasonings to taste.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours (or overnight). Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a sprig of dill and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for color.

GREEK CUCUMBER YOGURT SAUCE (TZATZIKI)

Steps:

• Whisk together the Greek yogurt and sour cream in a bowl.
• Stir in the grated cucumber and chopped fresh dill.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, freshly minced garlic, salt and pepper.
• Combine the two bowls.
• Chill for several hours to let flavors blend.
• Serve and enjoy.

GREEK TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Stir together yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Add lemon zest, dill, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth. Pour into a serving dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

GREEK TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Place yogurt in a coffee filter or piece of cheesecloth, and place in a strainer over a dish. Let drain for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. If using Greek yogurt you do not need to drain it, as it is already a thick consistency.
• Meanwhile, put the chopped or grated cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove liquid. Discard liquid. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and mix into the cucumber. Set aside 20 minutes. Rinse a little to wash out the extra salt, if you want to. Then squeeze again to express as much liquid as possible.
• Draining the yogurt and cucumber make for a thick and authentic consistency of tzatziki sauce.
• Combine the drained yogurt and cucumber, sour cream, pinch of salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mint and garlic. Note: we love garlic, so I tried adding more once. It made for an overpowering and almost bitter taste, so now I stick to only 1 clove.
• Place sauce in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more to meld flavors. Stir before serving. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Makes 1 1/4 cups.