tzatziki

We went to Greece for our 1st wedding anniversary.  That was 5 1/2 years ago, what???  Can't believe it has been so long already!  We visited Athens and Santorini and both were amazing.  To see all these things I saw in books in art school in person was mind blowing and Santorini, well, it was just beyond beautiful.  When we first arrived at our hotel in Santorini and sat next to the pool looking out over the caldera we had a conversation that went something like this...

"whoa"

"oh my god"

"have you ever?  I mean whoa!"

Oia in Santorini

The views were spectacular and the food was delicious.  We had tzatziki every day.  If you haven't had it before it is a yogurt dip flavored with garlic, cucumber and dill and it is delicious!  It is excellent with pita, veggies, on grilled chicken or lamb, with roasted potatoes.  With just about anything really! I've tried to make tzatziki before but I didn't follow a recipe figuring I could make it up and it came out blah and watery.  I found this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and it sounded great and now I see the steps I missed and why my first attempt didn't cut it.  You'll need:

3 cups Greek Yogurt (or regular plain yogurt, strained)
juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
1 T finely chopped fresh dill (can substitute mint leaves for a slightly different version)
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

To strain your yogurt you can use a yogurt strainer which I did not have!  She also suggested coffee filters which I also did not have so I used some cheese cloth inside a colander and it worked pretty darn well.

clearly a very professional setup over here

look at all that liquid from the yogurt!

Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.) Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.

In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper.

the dill and garlic all ready to go

Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

That is that and it is super yummy!

 I hope we'll get back to Greece someday.  At least the tzatziki will take us back a little...

linking up to:
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Let Birdz Fly
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
At the Picket Fence

me at the Parthenon

my husband enjoying the view from our patio in Santorini

me in the door of our hotel room in Santorini