The beautifully creamy, cold yogurt dip is not only considered a classic Greek appetizer, but is also part of summer picnics and barbecue parties in this country. The tzatziki tastes great with grilled food, fish and seafood, bread and salad. The Greek starter, the so-called mezzedes, is not just a combination of yogurt and cucumbers, which you will see for yourself below. In today's article we would like to offer you the ultimate tzatziki recipe, which is in no way inferior in taste and appearance to the homemade tzatziki at your favorite Greek restaurant.
Where does tzatziki actually originate?
The cold and refreshing dip that accompanies warm bread and is served with grilled meat or salads is practically made from just a handful of ingredients in Greek cuisine. These are yogurt, cucumber, garlic and olive oil. Incidentally, Turkish cuisine also offers its own variant of tzatziki, which is different from...Greek delicacyactually only differs minimally. The so-called Cacik starter is made from Süzme yoghurt, comparable to quark curd, diced or grated cucumber and herbs.
Greek Tzatziki Recipe – The perfect homemade Tzatziki
But what is the secret of the yogurt dip, which at first glance appears to be child's play? An essential step in its preparation is removing the liquid from the grated cucumber. This prevents the yogurt from being diluted, which would affect the taste and texture. This is best achieved by adding salt, thereby extracting the cucumber juice. The use of a thick and fatty yogurt is also important for the authentic texture.
Here are the ingredients for the tzatziki:
½ a large cucumber
2 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Greek yogurt
1 stalk of dill
mint
1 lemon
Preparation:
Halve the cucumber and scoop out the seeds. This is where most of the liquid is located. Then grate the remaining cucumber.
Add salt, stir well and place the cucumber in a sieve to drain the water.
In the meantime, finely chop the garlic and mix it with the olive oil.
Add the olive oil and garlic mixture to the yogurt.
Finely chop the dill and mint and add to the yogurt along with the grated cucumber. Stir well.
Squeeze the juice from half a lemon and add it to the remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Serve Greek tzatziki on warm bread.
