I do a lot of entertaining in the summer, and my family loves Mediterranean food, so you will likely find hummus and other yummy dips at our house.  This week we made Tzatziki Sauce – which is a Greek cucumber yogurt sauce. Generally, you might find it alongside a gyro at your favorite Greek restaurant.  And, while it’s not usually served as a dip — more of a condiment — we use it as one.  We like to dip pita chips and fresh raw veggies in Tzatziki Sauce.  It’s full of cool cucumbers, zesty garlic and fresh dill making a refreshing dip which is perfect for the warm weather.

If you don’t want to eat it as a dip, and prefer to serve it as a sauce, you can use it alongside grilled chicken or fish (I think it would be great with grilled wild salmon!) — and I bet it would taste pretty good on a burger (whichever kind you fancy).

It’s pretty simple to make — just three easy steps — grate, drain, mix (see more details below). It’s also the perfect recipe for those of you have a garden full of cucumbers!

Tzatziki as Easy as 1-2-3
Yields 3+cups 

2 cups of shredded cucumber, salted and drained (see note below)
3 cups of plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp white vinegar
salt
pepper

There are basically three steps involved in making this dip.  Grating the cucumber, salting/draining it and then mixing it together with the rest of the ingredients.

Peel and slice the cucumber lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon. Use a hand grater to grate the cucumber. Place the cucumber in a colander and add a little salt (1/3 teaspoon) in order to extract some of the liquid. Let it sit as you prepare the rest of the sauce.

In a large bowl, add the yogurt, dill, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, white vinegar, salt and pepper.

Drain as much liquid from the grated cucumber and add the cucumber to the bowl with the yogurt mixture.  Mix to combine and serve.