Tzatziki

Tzatziki

A classic Greek meze of thick strained yoghurt, grated cucumber, garlic and dill, served cold alongside grilled meats or with warm bread for scooping.

Prep

20 min

Total

20 min

Serves

6

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (2 cups) Greek-style strained yoghurt, full-fat, ideally sheep's or sheep-and-goat yoghurt; if using regular yoghurt, strain it first as described in step 1
• •1 medium (about 200 g) cucumber, English or telegraph cucumber preferred for fewer seeds
• •2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste; adjust to taste
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil, good Greek extra-virgin if possible, plus a little more to drizzle on top
• •10 g (¼ cup loosely packed) fresh dill, finely chopped; can be replaced with a smaller amount of fresh mint
• •5 ml (1 tsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed, optional but traditional
• •2 g (½ tsp) fine sea salt
• •1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Steps

1. 1 Strain the yoghurt: line a fine-mesh sieve with two layers of cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Spoon in the yoghurt and let it drain in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until thickened (you should end up with roughly 350 g of dense yoghurt). Discard the watery whey, or reserve it for baking.
2. 2 Prepare the cucumber: wash and, if the skin is thick or waxy, peel it. Coarsely grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater.
3. 3 Salt and squeeze the cucumber: transfer the grated cucumber to a small bowl, toss with the ½ tsp of salt, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then gather it in the cheesecloth (or a clean tea towel) and squeeze firmly over the sink until as much liquid as possible is removed. This step is essential to keep the tzatziki thick and not watery.
4. 4 Make the garlic paste: peel the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and crush them with the flat of a knife against the board. Continue scraping and crushing until a smooth paste forms.
5. 5 Combine: in a medium bowl, whisk the strained yoghurt with the olive oil, lemon juice and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in the squeezed cucumber and the chopped dill. Season with black pepper and taste for salt.
6. 6 Chill: cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors meld. Tzatziki keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; stir before serving and drizzle a little olive oil on top.