The Food Maven Diary
[Archives]

[Previous Entry] [Diary Home] [Next Entry]

08/10/2001 Archived Entry: "Tsadziki"

My Tsadziki is a sensation this summer. That’s the Greek word for cucumber and yogurt salad. I say “Greek word” because there are words in other languages for the same thing. A refreshing blend of yogurt and cucumber, often with garlic, generally with an herb, is made from India (raita) up through the Balkans. In Turkey, it is called cacik, pronounced ja-jeek.

I’m not sure if this year’s tsadziki is eliciting raves because I’ve been using rich, strained yogurt instead of full-moisture yogurt. Or because I have been making it with freshly dug garlic that I have been buying at the Greenmarket, which is gentler than the fully “cured” garlic we can buy most of the year. Or because the Kirby cucumbers that I also buy at the Greenmarket have been so good and not waterlogged, which means I don’t need to salt the cucumbers to drain. Whatever. My friends have been cleaning their plates, wiping up every bit with bread, and exclaiming that yogurt has never tasted so good.

Herewith the recipe, not that I usually measure when I make this. I measured just so I could write-up a very specific recipe to post here, a recipe with more detail than may be necessary, but bear with me. I want yours to come out as good as mine.

Tsadziki

Serves 6, as part of an appetizer spread, or as a side dish

Tzadziki is eaten as one of many appetizers, mezzethes, pronounced mez-eth-es, or small dishes that Greeks nibble on while drinking and carousing, or as the prelude to a main course. It can also be a side dish, to grilled fish or chicken or lamb ... or hamburgers if you like. I have intentionally kept the salt to a low level. I think garlic, in a way, can compensate for lack of salt. However, feel free to add more salt to taste.

2 cups strained yogurt or 1 quart whole milk yogurt (I use the kind with cream on the top, either Brown Cow or Stoneyfield)
4 medium Kirby cucumbers (about 3/4 pound)
3 large cloves “fresh” garlic, or 2 cloves regular “cured” garlic
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Herb of choice: Fresh dill, dried or fresh mint, parsley

Already strained yogurt can be purchased in Middle Eastern stores, and some health food stores and supermarkets. It may be called “Greek yogurt,” “strained yogurt,” or “labneh.” It is very easy to make your own, however. It can be made with either low-fat or whole-milk yogurt, but for a rich texture and flavor, use whole milk yogurt. Prepare a straining arrangement by lining a medium-sized, fine strainer with several thickness of rinsed cheesecloth or a course-woven napkin. Place the strainer over a deep bowl so the strainer does not reach the bottom. If the yogurt has a creamy layer on top, stir the yogurt well, then pour it into the strainer. Let it drip for at least an hour, possibly longer, until it has reduced to about half its volume, about 2 cups. Pour off the liquid in the bowl – it makes a refreshing beverage, but can be discarded – and place the yogurt in the bowl.

Wash the cucumbers well, then dry. Cut off the ends, then cut the cucumbers the long way down the middle. Using the tip of a teaspoon, scrape the seeds out of the cucumbers and discard them.

On the coarse side of a four-sided box grater, shred the cucumbers, grating them into a second bowl. To make the job easier and quicker, you can hold two halves of cucumber together, as if they were a whole one, and grate them together. When the cucumbers are all shredded, scoop up the cucumber by small handfuls and squeeze out excess liquid. Add the shredded, squeezed cucumbers to the yogurt.

Using a garlic press, puree the garlic into the yogurt. Alternately, use the flat side of a cook’s knife to smash the garlic, then sprinkle some of the salt on it and smash and chop the garlic until it’s a paste.

Add the garlic, salt and herb to the yogurt and cucumbers and stir very well. For an herb, add about 1/4 cup finely snipped fresh dill, or the same amount a few tablespoons of freshly cut parsley or mint, or use dry mint by pushing a couple tablespoons of whole dried mint leaves through a fine strainer to make about a teaspoon or so of dried mint powder. Mix well again. Pack the tzaziki in a bowl and garnish with a pinch more of whatever herb was used.

Serve immediately or, even better, let stand an hour before serving. Can be held for two or three days, but, if using “cured” garlic its flavor may become unpleasantly strong. If some liquid separates out of the dip while standing, stir it back in.