I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
good recipe for it. Anyone?

"Jude" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> good recipe for it. Anyone?



Tzatziki Sauce



2 small cucumbers -- peeled and diced
1 1/4 cups yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic -- minced
1 tablespoon dill -- chopped
juice of 1 lemon
white pepper -- to taste
salt -- to taste

Combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pepper in a bowl.
Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Blend yogurt mixture with a whip
until smooth. Dry cucumbers by patting with paper towels. Add Cucumbers
and dill to yogurt mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.



I cannot vouch for this, but I must have thought it might work since it's in
my recipe file.



Hot, hot here



from Toronto...........Elaine

Jude wrote:

> I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> good recipe for it. Anyone?

Exact recipe???? There are a million of them, so it obviously isn't an
exact science. It's basically thick yoghurt with grated cucumber, some
garlic, S&P.
When I make it I vary the amounts according to what I need and how strong
the garlic is and adjust seasoning to taste.

Start by grating some cucumber into a sieve and let it drain thoroughly,
otherwise the water from the cumber will turn the sauce into wet glop.
Press and shake out as much moisture as you can.

Get some nice thick yoghurt .... or you can drain the yoghurt overnight
in some cheese cloth.... or you can mix it half and half with thick sour
cream to give it some body.

Mix the yoghurt with the drained grated cucumber. Now comes the tricky
part. Finely mince or press garlic and stir it into the yoghurt mixture.
Raw garlic can be pretty strong, so you will have to gauge the amount to
use by the size and strength of the garlic cloves. I usually use one small
clove for 2 cups yoghurt. Salt and pepper to taste then drizzle the
tzatzki with some olive oil. Purists would insist on Greek olive oil, but
what the heck, if you don't know how to make the stuff you probably
wouldn't notice the difference. I use EVOO.

The best thing to do is to try the basic ingredients, taste and adjust.

Jude wrote:
> I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> good recipe for it. Anyone?


The main ingredients are grated, peeled, seeded cucumbers, yogurt and
garlic. You don't have to measure, but if you'd like to, these amounts
come from a Greek cookbook:


2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. spearmint flakes
1 tsp. scallions, chopped
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste


Traditionally, it is served as is and eaten with a spoon, but I normally
make it as a dip for raw carrots, red and green bell peppers and celery.


--Lia

Dave Smith wrote:

> Jude wrote:
>
> > I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> > cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> > know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> > probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> > different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> > good recipe for it. Anyone?
>
> Exact recipe???? There are a million of them, so it obviously isn't an
> exact science. It's basically thick yoghurt with grated cucumber, some
> garlic, S&P.
> When I make it I vary the amounts according to what I need and how strong
> the garlic is and adjust seasoning to taste.
>
> Start by grating some cucumber into a sieve and let it drain thoroughly,
> otherwise the water from the cumber will turn the sauce into wet glop.
> Press and shake out as much moisture as you can.
>
> Get some nice thick yoghurt .... or you can drain the yoghurt overnight
> in some cheese cloth.... or you can mix it half and half with thick sour
> cream to give it some body.
>
> Mix the yoghurt with the drained grated cucumber. Now comes the tricky
> part. Finely mince or press garlic and stir it into the yoghurt mixture.
> Raw garlic can be pretty strong, so you will have to gauge the amount to
> use by the size and strength of the garlic cloves. I usually use one small
> clove for 2 cups yoghurt. Salt and pepper to taste then drizzle the
> tzatzki with some olive oil. Purists would insist on Greek olive oil, but
> what the heck, if you don't know how to make the stuff you probably
> wouldn't notice the difference. I use EVOO.
> The best thing to do is to try the basic ingredients, taste and adjust.

I made by first batch in a blender and did not drain the cukes. It was pretty
gloppy, but tasted good otherwise. I added a package of unflavored gelatin and
stirred for several minutes, then refrigerated. Turned into quite an
acceptable dip - with a firm sort of souffleish texture.
Edrena

The Joneses wrote:

> I made by first batch in a blender and did not drain the cukes. It was pretty
> gloppy, but tasted good otherwise. I added a package of unflavored gelatin and
> stirred for several minutes, then refrigerated. Turned into quite an
> acceptable dip - with a firm sort of souffleish texture.
> Edrena

I used to make it with finely chopped cucumber and it had a nice texture if you
used it up right away, but turned sloppy overnight. The first time I made it with
grated cucumber it looked okay at first, but within 15 minutes it turned soupy.
Now I grate it into a sieve and force out as much water as I can and let it sit
for a while before adding it to the yoghurt.

"Jude" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> good recipe for it. Anyone?
>

My husband's boss just dropped a container of it off at our house on Sunday
that he made, but his fiance' said was too garlicky. Too garlicky? How can
it be too garlicky? Anyway, I've been dipping celery into it because I
don't have any other way of consuming it right now.

Pete, my hubby's boss, is Greek *from* Greece. I'll see if I can get his
recipe.

kili

"The Joneses" > wrote in message
...
> Dave Smith wrote:
>
> > Jude wrote:
> >

(bunch of good stuff snipped)

>
> I made by first batch in a blender and did not drain the cukes. It was
pretty
> gloppy, but tasted good otherwise. I added a package of unflavored gelatin
and
> stirred for several minutes, then refrigerated. Turned into quite an
> acceptable dip - with a firm sort of souffleish texture.
> Edrena
>
>
>

I was told that draining the cukes is very important so that it doesn't get
too runny. Somehow, without all that liquid it's supposed to keep a little
longer, too, but that's what I was told. I can't verify that.

kili

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> Jude wrote:
> > I want to make some cool lunch wraps this week....tzatziki, feta
> > cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce is my goal. I
> > know what's in tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, cucumber - and I could
> > probably fool around trying to make some, or do a search of a thousand
> > different recipes, but I thought someone here might actually know a
> > good recipe for it. Anyone?
>
>
> The main ingredients are grated, peeled, seeded cucumbers, yogurt and
> garlic. You don't have to measure, but if you'd like to, these amounts
> come from a Greek cookbook:
>
>
> 2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
> 1 cup yogurt
> 1 tsp. vinegar
> 1 tsp. spearmint flakes
> 1 tsp. scallions, chopped
> 1/2 tsp. sugar
> salt and pepper to taste
>
>
> Traditionally, it is served as is and eaten with a spoon, but I normally
> make it as a dip for raw carrots, red and green bell peppers and celery.
>
>
> --Lia

I doubt it's traditional, but I used a recipe that used sour cream
instead of yogurt (which I don't like).

N.