Tzatziki Sauce-- Greek Cucumber/Yogurt Sauce

Miracle Miriam's Note:

This is the cool and creamy sauce that usually is served as a condiment on Greek Gyro sandwiches. The recipe calls for the thicker, Greek Yogurt, also called, "Greek Cheese". If you can't find this type of yogurt, you can use plain, regular yogurt from the grocery store. But in order to get the sauce to the desired thicker consistency, you need to suspend the yogurt in a cheesecloth for a couple of hours to drain some of the water off. If you don't mind it moderately runny, you can just make it as is and it is still delicious, just a little more messy. Make this with Recipezaar Gyros - an Authentic Recipe for Making Them at Home, Gyros- An Authentic Recipe For Making Them At Home Enjoy!

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 3 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 3.5 Cups

• 3 cups Greek yogurt (also called Yogurt Cheese, see below for alternative)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large English cucumber, diced (the long, skinny ones)
• 1 tablespoon salt (for salting cucumbers)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or both, depending on preference) or 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped (or both, depending on preference)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Peel cucumbers and dice. Put them in a colander and sprinkle with the tablespoon of salt (draws water out). Cover with a plate and sit something heavy on top. Let sit for 30 minute Drain well and wipe dry with a paper towel.
2. In food processor or blender, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill and/or mint, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir into yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.
3. This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.
4. ** If you can’t find the thicker Greek Yogurt Cheese, you can use regular, plain yogurt that is either full fat or low fat. To thicken, spoon yogurt into cheese cloth that has been quadrupled. Draw the corners of the cloth up and tie together. Suspend above a bowl for 2 hours so that water can drip out. The consistency of the yogurt should be like that of sour cream.
5. You can skip this draining process, if you want, but you will have a moderately messier, runnier result.

Reviews

[jonshf]

You can also use Icelandic Skyr which is a thicker kind of yoghurt which means you don't have to drain the cucumber as much.

[Lucky in Bayview]

Mmmmm.....turned out just right! Incredibly easy. I used dill and look forward to trying it with mint. I had to use a regular cucumber and just seeded it. I halved the recipe and it made a lot. Thanks for posting the recipe!

[Retro Kali]

My husband would drink this stuff if I would let him. We put it on everything, burgers, veggies, and any Greek food, of course. If you don't have yogurt, sour cream works well, too!