Ingredients for Tzatziki sauce
- 3 cucumbers
- 300 g Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp fresh or dried mint
- 2 tsp salt
- lemon juice, to taste
| Preparation Time | 30 min |
| Level | Very Easy |
| Servings | 4 persons |
Tzatziki is one of the most famous Mediterranean sauces, which can be found especially in Greece, the Balkan peninsula and the Middle East; it is a very simple sauce prepared by mixing grated cucumbers with Greek yogurt, all seasoned with Mediterranean herbs and EVO oil of choice.
We prepared a version of the Tzatziki starting from the original recipe of our sister-in-law Ioulietta, who is from Cyprus; we have slightly modified it, removing the half head of garlic which she suggested as unfortunately, we are allergic to garlic, but if you want you can still cut the garlic into little pieces and add it to your sauce!
Use an EVO oil which is not too light-flavoured (otherwise its aroma will be covered by that of the sauce) nor too bitter (so it doesn’t cover the taste of the other ingredients); a medium intense fruity extra virgin olive oil (e.g. Efkrato, Perseo, Nocellara del Belice, Mantegna EVOOs) will be perfect!
You can make your Tzatziki sauce to be served as an appetizer paired with bread (read our homemade bread recipe), piadine (read our version of piadina with EVO oil) or pita (typical bread from Greece and the Middle East regions ), or as a sauce to go with roasted meat: its refreshing character will be a perfect match for it!
Directions
- Peel and grate the cucumbers with a grater (use the side with the largest holes).
- Mix the cucumbers with the salt, and leave them in a colander for 30’ to let the water drain out of them.
- Mix the cucumbers with the greek yogurt, the EVOO, mint and lemon juice.
- Let it rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before serving to get a creamier texture. Enjoy!
EVOO suggestions
