Tsatsiki

Welcome to day one of Greek week! Why Greek week? Well, there's a Greek restaurant about 20 minutes from our house, that happens to have a Greek market right next door. Last week, after treating ourselves to a nice meal out, we popped into the store...and with all the imported feta cheese, olives and fancy filo dough staring me in the face, it was obvious that just one day wasn't going to cut it. 

I'm kicking off Greek week with a favorite dip of mine, tsatsiki (aka tzatziki). It's great as a dip for bread (preferably a nice pita) and vegetables. It also makes a delicious sauce for meat, poultry or fish. You can even use it as a sandwich spread or salad dressing. It's so versatile that I'm working on a version that can both caulk your tub and cure the common cold.

tsatsiki served with lamb burgers

TSATSIKI

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup plain Greek yogurt*

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

1.      Toss cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a colander and let drain for 15 minutes.

2.      Meanwhile, mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt, then whisk together with olive oil, yogurt, dill and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

3.      Squeeze out any excess water from cucumbers with your hands, then stir cucumbers into yogurt mixture. Season to taste.

*You can use a thinner type of yogurt if you're using the tsatsiki as a sauce (and not a dip). You can also strain your yogurt with cheesecloth if you like your dip even thicker.

adapted from Estiatorio Milos

slicing cucumber

diced cucumbers draining

fresh dill

stirring