A delicious salad dressing....Tzatzki sauce

12 years ago

I'm on a kick lately with tzatzki sauce on my big midday salad. Love it used that way and if you haven't tried it.....DO.

I make it differently each time but here are the basics :

TZATZKI SAUCE

2 cups Greek yogurt (I use Fage)

1-2 cups cucumber (peeled, seeded, chopped, and strained of moisture)

3 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 cup minced fresh dillweed (or less....I love dill)

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)

Combine all ingredients and chill for (at least) a couple of hours before use. It's even better the next day.

Do strain the cukes, or the dressing can get watery. Do use fresh ingredients; dried or bottled dill, lemon juice, and garlic really can't be substituted.

This basic recipe can absolutely be tweaked. It's so good and good for you!

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Comments (14)

ellendi
12 years ago
How do you strain a cucumber?
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
Original Author
12 years ago
After I chop it up, I put the cucumber in some cheese cloth and twist....wringing out all kinds of water.
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ellendi
12 years ago
Ok! Putting cheesecloth on my grocery list!
Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
As a matter of personal preference, I mostly use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic with items like tzatziki that won't be cooked. Reason being, the variability of strength/pungency of garlic from one bulb to another. With some garlic, 2 cloves might be a bit too hot for a particular dish while with another bulb, 4 might not be not enough. With garlic powder, the strength is consistent.

In other dishes where either the garlic itself is exposed to heat or the item it's applied to is exposed to heat, different story.
ellendi
12 years ago
OK Snidely, since garlic cloves can vary in size, and with that in mind, how much garlic powder would you put in this recipe?
bob_cville
12 years ago
Except for the relative amounts of the ingredients, it looks like my recipe for Cold Cucumber Soup.

Regarding the conversion:
Several websites I found suggest:
1/2 tsp garlic flakes = 1 clove of garlic
1/8 tsp garlic powder = 1 clove of garlic

or my usual solution is
1 tsp chopped garlic from a jar = 1 clove of garlic
Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
ellen, it's supposed to be almost as garlicky as, say, the butter sauce for shrimp scampi. You can always add more.

If you have it in a 7 or 8 inch mixing bowl, I'd shake in a medium covering of the top. More than if you were grinding pepper into a bowl of soup, but much less than if shaking powered sugar onto a pancake. Stir it in and then, following rhizo's comment, let it sit overnight and try it the next day. Need's more, add more, too strong, add yogurt and lemon.
kittiemom
12 years ago
LOVE tzatzki, but have never tried it as salad dressing. I will now!
ellendi
12 years ago
Thanks Bob and Snidely!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
Original Author
12 years ago
Kittle, I love it too and have NO idea what took me so long to use it on my salads! I think that I was too lazy to mix up a quick vinaigrette and the tzatzki was sitting in the fridge, staring at me. :-)
ellendi
12 years ago
Just got home from dinner at a local diner. Guess what shouted up at me from the menu? Gyro with Tzatzki sauce.
It was good, but very thick. I am sure Rhizo, yours is much much better:)
glenda_al
12 years ago
I make it quite often and serve it as a dip witih pita bread. Great!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
Original Author
12 years ago
Mine is pretty thick; it's delivered to the salad with a spoon as it is too thick to pour. Using non-Greek yogurt would make it thinner. I keep it in a wide mouth jar in the fridge.

It's been one of our favorite dips for raw vegetables for years and perfect for breaded, fried mushrooms, zucchini, or onion rings. Yum!

We're going to have Greek food for lunch today, speaking of gyros.
glenda_al
12 years ago
My favorite is from The Olive Branch here:

Grilled Kafta Sandwich

Mediterranean style meatballs served in a pita pouch with fresh pineapple wedge, slice of orange and a small serving of hummus.on the side.

A delicious salad dressing....Tzatzki sauce

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A delicious salad dressing....Tzatzki sauce

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7Original Author

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