Makes 5½ cups
Greeks use this condiment, known as tzatziki, on just about everything. If you are lucky enough to find the authentic prepared stuff, go ahead and buy it. Either way, you will have a seriously flavorful and healthy sauce.
This recipe yields far more than you’ll need to make any one dish, which is the point. If you have it on hand, it will take you less than 30 minutes to make most of the other dishes in this chapter. It’s a dip for vegetables and pita, a flavor-packed sauce for sushi (yes, it’s easier to make than you think—and it doesn’t have to be perfectly executed to taste amazing), yet another replacement (along with Garlic Yogurt Sauce, here) for mayonnaise in chicken, tuna, crab, or egg salad sandwiches (or any sandwich that calls for mayonnaise), and a condiment for grilled meat, poultry, and fish.
3 cloves garlic, peeled or Garlic Confit (here)
½ cup white vinegar or white wine vinegar
4 cups Greek yogurt
1 large English cucumber, ends trimmed, peeled, and halved lengthwise, seeds discarded and flesh cut into ¼-inch dice
3 tablespoons loosely packed chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Combine garlic and vinegar in a blender and puree until smooth. Combine the yogurt and garlicky vinegar in a bowl. Using a whisk, gently work the liquid into the yogurt until it is fully incorporated.
Fold in the cucumbers, dill, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid. The dip will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
NOTE: Be sure to remove all of the seeds from the cucumber; they release water, which will make the dip too loose.
If raw garlic is too assertive for you, use the tamer, sweeter Garlic Confit (here).
I love the almost obnoxiously acidic flavor of white vinegar here, but you can tone it down by using white wine vinegar instead.
Chipotle Yogurt Sauce (here)
Cucumber Yogurt Dip with Crudités and Warm Pita (here)
Salmon Sushi with Cucumber Yogurt Dip (here)
Tuna Melts (here)
Greek Turkey Burgers (here)
Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwiches (here)
Chicken Souvlaki (here)
Spicy Chicken Paillard with Bulgur Salad (here)
Grilled Lamb Chops with Loaded Baked Potatoes (here)
Grilled Spicy Chicken with Wilted Spinach (here)