How to Make Tzatziki

Tzatziki! Tsaht-ZEE-kee! Otherwise known as that yogurt and cucumber sauce you love at Greek restaurants but worry about mispronouncing.

I traveled to Greece last fall and ordered tzatziki at every restaurant. I’m serious. I enjoyed tzatziki with every single meal, even breakfast. This recipe tastes just like authentic tzatziki.

I tend to associate tzatziki with Greek food, but you’ll find it served across the Mediterranean and Middle East, sometimes under different names or in slightly different forms.

Tzatziki is often served with grilled meats and gyros, but I can’t think of a grilled or roasted vegetable it wouldn’t play nicely with. You can also serve up some tzatziki with your next appetizer spread. Let’s make some already!

Uses for Tzatziki

Grilled Vegetables

• Bell peppers
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Corn on the cob

Appetizer spreads

• Toasted pita wedges
• Crisp raw vegetables
• Olives
• Cheese and crackers
• Hummus
• Zhoug or Shatta (Middle-Eastern hot sauces)

Falafel, sandwiches and salads

• Falafel
• Pita sandwiches (you could use it instead of the avocado in that recipe)
• Tabbouleh
• Lentil salad
• Chickpea salad

My Tzatziki Technique

Fortunately, tzatziki is super easy to whip together. The only trick is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt. Otherwise, cucumber waters down the sauce too much. Salting the grated cucumber and letting the excess moisture drip out takes a while.

The easiest and most efficient way to get rid of the excess moisture is to lightly squeeze the grated cucumber over the sink. The only wait required in my recipe is to let the tzatziki rest for five minutes after you mix it all together, to let the flavors meld. At that point, you can serve it right away or chill it for later.

Tzatziki Nutrition & Yogurt Notes

Nutritionally speaking, tzatziki is a creamy but light sauce. You can dollop it generously on your food without adding a lot of calories (unlike, say, mayonnaise or ranch dressing). It’s made mostly with Greek yogurt and cucumber, after all.

I haven’t found a noticeable difference in texture whether I use whole-milk yogurt, low-fat or non-fat, so any of those will work. Traditional Greek tzatziki is made with strained goat or sheep’s yogurt, but it’s hard to find those here. The Greek yogurt sold here in the U.S. is strained yogurt (that’s why it’s thicker and higher in protein than regular yogurt), so I use that.

As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I’m excited to hear how it turns out for you and how you serve it.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups grated cucumber (from about 1 medium 10-ounce cucumber, no need to peel or seed the cucumber first, grate on the large holes of your box grater)
• 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. Serve tzatziki immediately or chill for later. Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.

Easy Green Goddess Dressing

This green goddess dressing is exactly what we need right now. It’s creamy, tangy, and fully loaded with fresh, herbal flavor. I’ve savored it by the spoonful while imagining sunny days ahead.

The Green Goddess is going to carry us through to spring. We’re going to make it. I can feel it.

I put some soup recipe development on hold when I finalized this dressing. I’ll figure it out soon enough (hint: it’s also green). I’m too busy drizzling this versatile dressing over anything and everything.

The funny thing about this green goddess dressing recipe is that it’s so very simple. I tried adding lemon juice and olive oil, and they only distracted from the beautiful combination of good Greek yogurt and fresh herbs.

In fact, you can use any combination of fresh herbs for this recipe. That leftover parsley and cilantro in the fridge? Let’s use ’em up.

Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients

This salad dressing differs from most other green goddess dressings, but the flavor and texture remains so similar. Typically, you’ll find mayonnaise, lemon, and anchovies on the ingredients list. This recipe relies on Greek yogurt for tang and creaminess instead.

Greek Yogurt

High-quality whole-milk yogurt makes this dressing spectacular. I splurged on Straus Family Creamery and it’s just so good. I suspect regular plain yogurt would work well, too, though it will be more runny.

Fresh Herbs

Now we’re talking! This dressing calls for an overflowing cup of fresh, leafy herbs. Here are some notes on your options.

Tarragon: If you’re looking for classic green goddess flavor, be sure to use some tarragon. Its licorice-like flavor is strong, so limit the tarragon to about 2 tablespoons (or a small handful).

Chives or green onion: Chives are more classic, but green onion works almost nearly as well. To avoid overpowering your dressing with oniony flavor, limit these ingredients to about 1/4 cup.

Basil, parsley, cilantro, dill and/or mint: Use these to fill up the rest of your cup. Any one of these herbs (or any combination) will work beautifully. For dressing that would be suitable with Mexican meals, try using a lot of cilantro. Dill lovers, try an all-dill dressing and drizzle it over potatoes.

Garlic

Just one small-to-medium clove—no more! In sauces and dressings, garlic often grows in intensity as it rests.

Salt and Pepper

Plenty of each—dressing should be bordering on salty when it’s your main seasoning for fresh produce. This dressing loves black pepper!

Salad Serving Suggestions

This herbaceous dressing is so versatile. Build a salad with any of these ingredients:

• Almonds, pepitas or sunflower seeds
• Bell peppers
• Carrots, shaved or thinly sliced
• Cooked chickpeas or lentils
• Cucumber
• Feta or goat cheese
• Fresh, leafy greens—including butter lettuce, baby gem, romaine and spring greens
• Red onion
• Snow peas or snap peas
• Tomatoes
• Radishes

You can also use this dressing as a veggie dip for any of the above suggestions.

Please let me know how your dressing turns out in the comments! I love heari

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably full-fat (made with whole milk)
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh herbs (tender stems are fine): use cilantro, parsley, dill, basil and/or mint, with up to ¼ cup chives or green onion (sliced into ½″ segments)
• Optional: Up to 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 medium clove garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Lots of freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth and green, with tiny flecks of herbs.
2. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if desired. Use as desired, or cover and refrigerate for later. This dressing will keep well in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.

ng from you.

5 Healthy Comfort Food Recipes

1) Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

“Yet another winner! My husband said, why do we even ever eat meat when vegetarian tastes like this?” – Karen

2) Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)

“This soup is awesome, very flavourful, tastes just like it’s come out of a fancy Italian restaurant kitchen. Definitely making again!” – Joanne

3) Extra Vegetable Fried Rice

“With more mouths to feed than usual over the holidays, I made this twice in the last 10 days! Both times, I followed the recipe exactly, and it was a huge hit! I used snow peas and red pepper for the 2 cups of extra veggies. Everyone gobbled it up and asked for seconds. Thanks, Kate!” – Emily

4) Lentil Baked Ziti

“Amazing! I honestly like this better than traditional baked ziti or lasagna! My 17 and 21 year old picky eaters devoured it. I almost didn’t make it because the thought of lentils in my pasta was a little scary. You’d never know they were there unless someone told you! Thank you for making the transition to vegetarian eating fun and delicious.” – Sherry

5) Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

“I made this once before- it’s super easy to make and tastes delicious. I just tossed in some store bought spiralized zucchini and let the sauce heat up the noodles. This is great for a quick mid-week meal. I’m going to make it again tomorrow night and the best part is I already have almost all of the ingredients on hand!” – Allison

TOMATO, CARROT AND DILL SOUP – CREAMY, GARLICKY & DELICIOUS!

Today I’m re-sharing an old recipe from May 2012 for my Tomato Carrot and Dill Soup with updated photographs and tweaked recipe!

It was an exciting time for a 20 yr old as one minute I’d be making hundreds of mini quiches and the next I was taking coats & serving canapes in a millionaires home as a waitress! We had a fair few celebrity clients too who would pop in for a sandwich.  The only one I can remember now is Kevin Godley of Godley & Creme (go ask your mum if you’re too young LOL)!

One of our best selling soups was this Tomato, Carrot and Dill  Soup which was and still is a personal favourite. I used to make it all the time from my head and eventually wrote it down so it may or may not be totally true to the original! What I love about this soup is the creamy, garlicky flavour notes that so compliment the tomato, carrot & dill. It’s quite unique and totally delicious, just ask my hubby who had 2 bowlfuls before I could even snap a picture!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25 g / 1oz butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 Cloves garlic (large), crushed crushed
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 500 g / 1lb 2oz carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 400 g tins good quality Italian chopped tomatoes
• 800 ml / 1 ½ pts vegetable stock (made with 2 stock cubes)
• 150 ml / 6floz single cream small pot
• 15 g / ½ oz dill, finely chopped chopped
• freshly ground salt and pepper

Garnish (optional)

• Extra single cream to drizzle
• Extra Dill fronds

Instructions

1. Sweat the onions, celery and crushed garlic in the oil and butter in a large pan over a low heat (with the lid on) for 10 minutes until softened but not browned.
2. Add the carrots and gently fry for another 2 minutes stirring constantly.
3. Add the tins of tomatoes.
4. Make up the stock with boiling water and add to the pan.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Add the chopped dill and season.
7. Allow to cool and liquidise (unless like me you have a stainless steel hand blender which negates the need to cool).
8. Pour the soup back into the pan and stir in the cream.
9. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
10. Bring back to serving temperature.
11. Garnish with a swirl of cream and a sprig of fresh dill and serve with crusty bread.