members recipes

A classic meze consisting of Greek yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and mint. There are many variants of this recipe, this is my take on it. Tzatziki makes a very nice condiment for gyros or kebabs. It goes very well with pork or lamb. It\'s also very nice served as a dip with pita bread triangles.

Ingredients
150g Greek yoghurt
1/2 cucumber
2 - 4 crushed garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1 tsp chopped or dried mint (or dill)
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Method
1. Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthways and de-seed using a teaspoon, then coarsely grate.

2. Put grated cucumber into a sieve suspended over a bowl, sprinkle over 1/2 tsp of salt and mix through. Place a plate on top of cucumber and allow cucumber to drain for approximately 1 hour, or until water stops dripping (whichever is first).

3. Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

4. The flavours combine better if given time so I prefer to leave it in a sealed container in the refrigerator overnight.

5. If Greek yoghurt is not available then you can make your own Greek style from plain yoghurt by suspending a sieve lined with cheesecloth over a bowl, adding the yoghurt and allowing it to drain for 2-3 hours, or longer if thicker yoghurt is preferred, in a refrigerator. A paper coffee filter can be used as an alternative to a cheesecloth, following the above method.