6 – Ingredients – Tzatziki

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 3 cups of sour milk (3.5%), each 500 g
• ½ cucumber(s)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• e.g. vinegar (white wine vinegar)
• Salt
• Pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

If you don’t like it when the garlic overpowers everything in tzatziki and prefer a spicy side dish, this recipe is perfect for you. It’s especially important that you use no vinegar other than white wine vinegar and that you let the tzatziki steep as directed (or longer if you like) so that the ingredients have time to develop. The restaurant owner who gave me the recipe made tzatziki by the bedsheet for her restaurant. Tie a tea towel together at the two short ends, hang it up (for example, from the knob of a kitchen cupboard), and place a medium-sized bowl underneath. Open the three cups of sour milk and empty them into it. Perhaps remove one side of the tea towel, hold it, and then hang it up again. The whey will now drain away. You can either let it drip like this for 1-2 hours or wring out the cloth directly. Normally, the cups lose almost a third of their volume in liquid alone! Peel the drained sour milk from the cloth and place it in a bowl. The whey can be discarded; it has no further use in this recipe. If the mixture is too thick, stir in another cup of plain sour milk to make it smoother—but not runny. You can also stir in a cup of natural yogurt instead, if you like, or use it instead of the sour milk (although I prefer the former). Grate half or a whole cucumber and stir in. The cucumber juice can be stirred in, if desired. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a dash of white wine vinegar (careful not to add too much, as it is very strong and only a light flavor is desired. For this amount, I recommend 1.5 tablespoons). Peel a clove of garlic and add it to the bowl. The flavor develops further as it simmers. If this seems too little, add a second clove. However, on your first attempt, you should stick to just one clove. Cover the bowl with foil or a plate and refrigerate it. The tzatziki should sit for at least a few hours; only then will the full flavor develop. I usually leave it in the fridge for 3-5 hours, stirring occasionally. It tastes great with grilled food, on an appetizer plate, or simply with baguette.