Opa!: Tzatziki and Friends

I discovered the wonder that is a real, assertive tzatziki (i.e., not what is generally served on your falafel or souvlaki at that vaguely Mediterranean sandwich place) while on the Hellenic leg of my summer sojourn this year (for curious folks, there was also a Flemish leg, an Iberian leg, and an Ottoman leg--and they were referred to as such to the consistent confusion of other native (and non-native) speakers of English). At the outset of our aforementioned Hellenic leg, we encountered "herbage cheese balls" (which bore my two favorite characteristics of Greek cuisine: being drowned in olive oil and being delicious) and, the subject of this entry, authentic tzatziki. Served as an appetizer with fresh bread, Greek tzatziki is the absolute jam. It's got a yogurt tang, a garlic kick, the comfort of dill, some lemony love, and, made right, the added subtlety of some extra virgin olive oil.

After a middling-at-best attempt to recreate that Greek delight in Istanbul, I came back to the states and worked the recipe into shape. It is my go-to dip these days (which used to be hummus, and then was guacamole--both of which still turn up pretty often when Will and I are entertaining--actually, hummus less so these days because I can only find Joyva tahini in Seattle, which just does not do it for me; there's little sesame kick, and it's insufficiently creamy). It's not nearly as quick to make as hummus since there's some knifework involved, but in this eater's estimation,* the extra work is well worth it.

I don't have any great pictures of the process at the moment, but I'll add some next I make it, which will be soon. As matter of note, you don't need Greek yogurt (Fage, Oikos, and Greek Gods are the brands I've seen in supermarkets) to make tzatziki, but it REALLY helps. It's much thicker than regular yogurt and keeps the dip from being runny. If you can't get your hands on Greek yogurt, I've heard that you can approximate it with regular yogurt. The essential process is to strain more of the whey out of the yogurt so that it has the same sort of thickness. You should be able to do this with a couple layers of cheesecloth. Put the yogurt in it, squeeze, and then hang it for a bit from the faucet to let more of the whey drain. In fact, I'm planning on trying this soon and using the hanging time to infuse the yogurt with some other flavor (ginger, perhaps?).

Anyway, on to the recipe.

{+} Tzatziki Recipe

Tzatziki
For one, if you love it as much as I do

1 container greek yogurt
1/2 large white onion
1 medium cucumber
2 gloves garlic
1 handful dill
1 lemon (the juice--you can add zest too if you are feeling fancy)
salt & pepper to taste (also, a touch of paprika if you want)

1. Prep your veggies! One of the things that made tzatziki so interesting for me in Greece is that it had these long paper-thin strands of onion in it that, while disconcerting at first, are actually kind of fun to eat. This is totally doable with a good knife (see the post below for my recommendation), but I happened to grab one of these little nubbins on Amazon, and it makes my life orders-of-magnitude easier. I usually half my onion and then run it through the mandoline, then cut the result in half again to end up with thin quarter-onion crescents. I also mandoline the cuke then use a knife to make matchstick-sized pieces of cucumber. If you're a lazy ass, you can probably just grate it.

2. Chop your dill!

3. Mince (or press) your garlic!

4. Mix it all together! Yogurt, onions crescents, cuke matchsticks, lemon juice, dill, garlic.

5. Salt and pepper it to taste!

6. When I plate it, I usually add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (highly recommended). If you're feeling fancy, put an olive and a sprig of dill in the middle and dust it with paprika.

So, as I said, I don't have any pictures of straight tzatziki these days. I will soon. I do, however, have a picture of my Greek-themed open-faced eggplant & kale sandwich which sprung out of my mind and onto my plate last Monday. A bit heavy for a pre-soccer meal, but holy hell, it was delicious:


Might as well give you the "recipe" for that as well. It was really just the results of what was in the fridge:

{+} Eggplant Kale Sandwich Recipe

Greek-themed open-faced eggplant kale sandwich
Serves One


1 Greek Pita
Some Tzatziki
A couple slices eggplant
Some Kale
Some feta

1. Toast the pita.

2. Put the tzatziki on it.

3. Roast (15 mins or until soft @ 400) or grill the eggplant slices with some oil (I opted for sesame, which was interesant). Put it on the tzatziki.

4. You can roast the kale alongside the eggplant with some olive oil and garlic too. Put it on top of the eggplant.

5. Put feta over everything. Mmmm, feels good.

Chau chau** for now now!
Peter



*I've incorporated this construction into my idiolect after picking it up from one of my favorite purveyors of idiosyncrasies, Harold Bloom. E.g., "In this editor's lifelong judgment, Wallace Stevens is the principal America poet since Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson." I'm not sure everyone finds Bloom as funny as I do, but I've got a real soft spot for the man.

**You can thank the Chileans for this spelling. Also, pokemones.