Recipe: Make Tzatziki at Home

It’s very easy to make Tzadziki at home.

We’ve been eating a lot of tzatziki during the pandemic. It’s healthful, refreshing and delicious and will taste even better as warm weather returns… what’s not to love? Only problem is, the store bought stuff is a tad expensive–especially when it’s so easy to make tzatziki at home for about half the price. Makes 1 pint.

Ingredients:
1 pint whole milk Greek yogurt (we like Trader Joe’s)
¾ t salt (if you need it)
200 g cucumber (about half a large one)
Juice of half a lemon (if you need it)
Optional mix-ins such as ground sumac or fresh mint

Sumac and finely chopped mint are recommended mix-ins when you make tzatziki at home,

Method: grate the cucumber in the second coarsest setting of a box grater. You may or may not need to peel or remove seeds depending on the quality of the cucumber; we did not peel our non-waxy cuke and left the seeds in. Transfer the grated cucumber to a colander and press with a paper towel or dish towel to remove as much water as possible (there will be a lot).

Mix the cucumber with the yogurt; Greek yogurt compresses when stirred so you can probably do this right in the container. Taste for flavor balance and add salt and lemon juice as required; it should be slightly salty and slightly tangy. The Trader Joe’s yogurt is plenty tangy already so no lemon juice was required. Top with a layer of mix-ins so diners can incorporate them as they dip. Serve with celery or carrot sticks, pita chips or whatever.