Day 8: Tzatziki

The Greek in me absolutely loves Tzatziki. You can put it on chicken, dip it in chips, bread, or a pita bread... dunk your carrots or broccoli in it... it's absolutely delicious and you can find a way to incorporate into a wide variety of your weekly meals. 

My cousin is a Chef who has numerous restaurants and has appeared on the Food Network and Bar Rescue. While I am not close to him, I am super proud of him, his accomplishments as a chef and am inspired with his journey.

There's about three cookbooks I use while looking to recreate Greek recipes. I love to see what different Chefs use and compare ingredients to see what I personally prefer. My cousin Chef Michael Psilakis is normally spot when I'm craving some home cooked meals, so I went with his Tzatziki recipe tonight but made my own variations.

*Ingredients

About 1/2 English Cucumbers

5 cloves of garlic

2 medium scallions

Pinch of dill

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS white distilled vinegar 

2lbs (32 oz) Greek yogurt 

2 TBS Greek olive oil

Salt/Pepper to taste

Split cucumber lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Mince very finely or use a cheese grater to grate the cucumber. Mince your garlic and shallots very finely as well. Combine cucumber, garlic, shallots, vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. Incorporate until combined and add salt/pepper to taste. 

I personally enjoy making this a day before so the flavors can combine and really bloom but you can serve it right away if need be.

Also, I personally don't enjoy dill because I don't like pickles but if you do, I would add about a TBS at a time so you can get a sense of how much dill you would like in it.

Incorporate half of your ingredients at a time and get a feel for what you prefer. Tasting as you go is key to ensure you're happy with the end result.

Enjoy!

**I personally like a more rustic Tzatziki, so I finely chop all of my ingredients but if you prefer it be done differently you can always use your food processor to chop it to the consistency of your liking.