Tzatziki
Summer heat calls for tzatziki: Greece’s cooling cucumber-yogurt dip, with heightened freshness from mint and dill, with a light garlicky kick.
- Makes3 1/2 cups
- Cook Time20 minutes
The cucumber-yogurt dip known as tzatziki is often seasoned with lemon juice in the U.S., but in Greece cooks prefer red wine vinegar because it adds sharp acidity without the citrus notes to compete with the other ingredients. Thick and cooling, tzatziki can be served as a dip, but it's also an ideal condiment or accompaniment for grilled meats and seafood and fried foods.
Don't use nonfat Greek yogurt. Without any fat, the flavor of the tzatziki is weak and thin. Also, when shredding the cucumbers, don't shred the cores, as the seeds are watery and have a slight bitterness and unappealing texture.
Step 1
Set a colander in a medium bowl, then set a box grater in the colander. Grate the cucumber halves on the grater's large holes, rotating and grating only down to the seedy core. Discard the cores. Sprinkle the shredded cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt and toss. Set aside to drain for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, oil, garlic, mint, dill and vinegar.
Step 3
A handful at a time, squeeze the shredded cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible, then set on a cutting board; reserve 2 teaspoons of the cucumber liquid. Finely chop the squeezed cucumber, then stir into the yogurt mixture. Stir in the reserved cucumber liquid and ½ teaspoon salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with additional mint and dill.
