Homemade tzatziki is delicious and better than a supermarket (Image: fcafotodigital via Getty Images)
Greek cooking is celebrated for its fresh and vibrant dishes, where verdant herbs, tangy citrus fruits, and premium olive oil form essential components. Tzatziki incorporates all of these, alongside thick yoghurt and cucumber, amongst other seasonings.
It’s straightforward to prepare in just a few minutes if you have the basic list of ingredients, though a Greek cuisine aficionado insists nothing compares to her genuine family recipe. Food writer Georgina Hayden said, “It’s cooling, punchy, and addictive… for Greeks and Cypriots, there aren’t many meals where a bowl of tzatziki doesn’t make a welcome appearance.” The velvety dip is typically accompanied by gyros, kebabs, or featured as part of a meze, but that’s beside the point of the recipe, observes Georgina.
There is a key step to making the dip creamier (Image: Getty)
She clarified that, regardless of how you opt to serve it, it needs to be thicker than most recipes recommend, according to her mum’s genuine Greek recipe.
Georgina said that growing up, her yiayia (grandmother), Martha, made a tub of taramosalata, and her mum made tzatziki.
“Those were the rules. Both ladies are famous for their dips. Make this for your friends and family, and you too can be famous for your tzatziki. It’s a good accolade to have”, she noted.
Preparing the “best of the best tzatziki” is straightforward. You require the correct ingredients (full-fat Greek yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, dried mint, black pepper, flaky salt, olive oil, fresh lemon juice), and a spare 15 minutes to strain the yoghurt before anything else.
Georgina’s family recipe adheres to a straightforward principle: season the yoghurt with a couple of generous pinches of flaky sea salt, then transfer it into a fine-mesh sieve positioned over the bowl.
The dip is pretty straightforward to whip up (Image: Getty)
The yoghurt needs to drain for a minimum of 15 minutes, or alternatively overnight in the fridge.
The Bon Appétit food writer explained, “The longer you leave it, the creamier your tzatziki will be.”
Once the strained yoghurt is ready, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and rinse out the sieve. For additional creaminess, you can line the sieve with cheesecloth prior to straining the yoghurt.
A comparable approach applies to the cucumber, which naturally contains substantial water content. Cut one cucumber lengthways down the middle and remove the seeds, then grate the cucumber using a box grater and place into the sieve.
Tzatziki is mostly made up of cucumber and mint (Image: Getty)
Add another half teaspoon of flaky sea salt and allow to drain for one hour, stirring from time to time to help release excess moisture.
Best Greek tzatziki recipe
Ingredients
- 454-500g container of full-fat Greek yoghurt
- One garlic clove, peeled and grated
- Flaky sea salt
- One cucumber
- One tsp dried mint
- Black pepper
- Two tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- Fresh mint to serve (optional)
Method
Add half a teaspoon of flaky salt to the yoghurt and strain as instructed.
Slice the cucumber and scoop out the seeds, then grate, add half a teaspoon of salt and drain as instructed.
Stir the cucumber into the yoghurt, then peel and finely grate one garlic clove into the mixture.
Add one teaspoon of dried mint and a generous grinding of black pepper. Drizzle in two tablespoons of olive oil and add the lemon juice.
Stir everything to combine and season to taste before serving with an extra drizzle of oil and some mint. Keep in a container in the fridge for up to three days.
