Jersey Diner Tzatziki Sauce

Submitted by Schnecke

"My mouth remembers after-school trips to the Greek diner down the street for Gyros. It's one of the fondest memories I have of my old hometown in Northern NJ. I've been looking for a good tzatziki recipe for a long, long time. Here's what I've come up with, adjusted from other's. Cooking time does not include chilling or draining time."

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 1 1/2 cups
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups plain fat-free yogurt
• 1⁄2 cucumber, seeded but not peeled
• 2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried mint
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt, to taste

directions

1. Line a small colander with a damp paper towel. and place in a small bowl. Place the yogurt over this and allow to drain in the fridge for 1-2 hours, until it has become thick like sour cream.
2. Grate the cucumber and place in a second colander. Salt lightly and press with hands or the bottom of a bowl to remove excess water.
3. Mix all ingredients. Cover and place in fridge for about 30 minutes (garlic flavor will intensify with time).
4. Serve with fresh veggies, falafel, or gyros. Yum!

Reviews

[rdronni]

As a Jersey Girl- this is the best!

 

[L DJ3309]

OH OH OH been looking for this recipe for years. When I was a teen, (won't say how many years ago.) a neighbor would make Tzatziki sauce for dip for veggies and pita chips. Serving it along side hummus. I've tried many recipes, all lacking. My taste bud memories say this is it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tinkerbell]

I was making the recipe #170834 recipe for kzbhansen's cookathon & needed the tzatziki to go with it. The draining techniques in this recipe were very well instructed. DH & DS went crazy for this sauce, but I felt that the dill flavor might have been a bit over-powering and esthetically, the sauce had an unappetizing yellow cast to it. I'm pretty sure that peeling the cucumber next time will fix that, though. All in all this was a very good sauce & we'll use it again in the future. Thanks for sharing, Larix!