Tzatziki

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

½ of an English Cucumber, seeds removed and finely grated
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) Greek yogurt (2% or full-fat)
2 -3 cloves of garlic, minced
Juice of ½ of a fresh lemon
1 teaspoon (5 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons (10 mL) chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
Kosher or sea salt; freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Prepare cucumber by halving it lengthwise, and scraping out seeds (the seeds contain a great deal of moisture).
2. Finely grate the cucumber; place in a bowl and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt over all. Let this sit for at least ½ hour.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix yogurt with the minced garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, dill, and mint.   Combine well.
4. When the grated cucumber is ready, strain the juices from the grated cucumber with a sieve. Press down gently on the sieve to extract as much of the juice as possible. Then place the strained mixture on a clean kitchen towel. Wrap it up and wring out even more juice. This extra extracting will assist in keeping the tzatziki thick.
5. Add the squeezed cucumber to the yogurt mixture and stir well to combine.
6. Stir in the olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight.

Questions and comments are always welcome    alex@chilipeppersandpears.com ^[1]