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You are here: Home / Gluten Free / TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE & HISTORY – all you need to know!

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE & HISTORY – all you need to know!

12/15/2017 by Filippo Trapella 8 Comments

Tzatziki sauce is an easy and tasty recipe, typical in Greece, and very popular in the neighboring countries. Make a good Tzatziki is simple, but it requires prime quality ingredients and whole Greek yogurt. Commonly this sauce is flavored with fresh dill and vinegar, but lemon juice, and other fresh herbs are traditional and tasty as well. Here the recipe and history of Tzatziki!

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

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TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

ORIGIN OF TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

The preparation of Tzatziki is very ancient. Probably, this sauce has been created to use to excess of yogurt production.
The word Tzatziki derives from the Persian zhazh, that means herb mixture. Recipes similar to Tzatziki are very popular in Middle Eastern countries, Greece, and Southern Balkans.

In Turkey, Cacik is a variation of Tzatziki with Sumac spice, fresh mint, and water: served as soup or side dish.

In Balkans countries, this sauce is named Tarator, and enriched with walnuts and sometimes minced onions. Tarator is also popular in Albania and often paired with grilled squid.

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

TZATZIKI AND GREEK CUISINE

Spending a few days in Greece, you can understand how important Tzatziki is into the Greek cuisine. Along with Pita bread, Greek Salad and Moussaka, Tzatziki is always present from the smallest island of Aegean sea to the inland mountains.

The Tzatziki sauce is traditionally served in a bowl and paired with Pita and Souvlaki, or spread over Pita and completed with Gyros meat, onions, tomatoes and fries.

But, the versatile taste of this flavorful sauce permit some intriguing pairings far from the Greek tradition, like roasted salmon for instance.

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

TZATZIKI TIPS AND VARIATIONS

Depending on the local availability and traditions this sauce calls for some differences.

Even if the most popular herb to make Tzatziki sauce is fresh dill, many variations provide for different herbs like oregano, mint, or thyme.

The cucumber can be peeled or not, and grated or reduced into little cubes.

Some Tzatziki recipes suggest lemon juice instead of vinegar.

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

5.0 from 2 reviews
TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE & HISTORY - all you need to know!
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Total time
15 mins
 
Author: Filippo Trapella - philosokitchen.com
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cup (350 g) whole Greek yogurt
  • 1 (200 g) medium cucumber
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
Instructions
  1. SEASONING THE GREEK YOGURT
    First of all, mince the fresh dill and garlic. Now, combine the Greek yogurt with the extra-virgin olive oil, dill, and garlic. If you are preparing Tzatziki sauce in advance, store the mixture, wrapped, in the fridge up to 24 hours, then proceed to the next step; otherwise go forward immediately!
  2. FINISHING AND SERVING
    Peel or not the cucumber, depending on your preferences, then grate it with the big holes side of a grater. Now, pour the grated cucumber in the sieve, add a pinch of salt and lose the vegetable water, stirring and pressing vigorously with a spoon. Finally, mix the cucumber with the yogurt sauce, salt to taste and serve.
3.5.3226

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TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE with cucumber and Greek yogurt

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Faster Than 45 Mins, Food Story, Gluten Free, Recipes, Sauces & Jarred Goods, Sides, Vegetarian Tagged With: dill, Greece, greek, healthy, herbs, Meze, olive oil, olives, Pita, Tzatziki, yogurt

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Comments

  1. Melody Nydam says

    01/04/2018 at 10:54 am

    Can’t wait to try your version!

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      01/04/2018 at 12:22 pm

      Great, let me know your opinion 🙂

      Reply
  2. Angel says

    03/25/2019 at 1:49 am

    Very delicious & healthy. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      03/25/2019 at 8:53 am

      thank you Angel!

      Happy cooking 🙂

      F.

      Reply
  3. leah says

    07/06/2019 at 2:23 pm

    This is very easy to make and tastes delish! thanks for your work

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      07/08/2019 at 7:18 pm

      Thank you Leah!

      Happy cooking 🙂

      F.

      Reply
      • Wanga says

        06/09/2020 at 9:50 am

        Sounds good I will try it out

        Reply
        • Filippo Trapella says

          06/09/2020 at 10:22 am

          thank you Wanga!
          Happy cooking 🙂
          F.

          Reply

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