Greek Tzatziki Sauce With Sour Cream has a lot going for it as a flavourful, versatile and healthy dip!
A lot of tzatziki recipes only use yogurt but adding sour cream makes it smoother and richer. Some people add cream cheese but I find the cream cheese takes all the edge off the yogurt. I like the yogurt/sour cream mix.
My love of tzatziki goes back to the pedestrian mall of Prince Arthur Street in Montreal in its 1980's heyday.
The mall is/was dedicated to Greek restaurants with plenty of al fresco dining; and it featured a Bring Your Own Wine policy long before it was legal or widespread. That alone made the price of a dinner out quite reasonable.
It seems the street no longer enjoys the reputation and crowds it used to but it was there I was first served tzatziki.... creamy, garlicky with a hit of cucumber to add some freshness.
The first tzatziki I ever had - and that became the gold standard for us- was so garlicky that if only one of my husband or I had the tzatziki they had to sleep on the couch! It was that garlicky!
I made this recipe with only 1 clove of garlic and it is rather mild- so feel free to go to 2 or more depending on your taste. Also - when garlic is fresh in season it has a lot more oil and flavour than the out of season or imported bulbs. So- govern yourself accordingly!
Tzatziki is great as a dip for toasted pita triangles, baguette, celery or carrots etc. It is also great in a Souvlaki as a condiment.
It is easy to make but you need a bit of hands off time for the yogurt and cucumbers to drain off their liquid. You grate a cucumber with the skins and squeeze and/or drain out the water. If you are in a hurry squeeze it through a sieve, if you have time let it sit and drain overnight in the fridge.
You can use low fat yogurt to control the calories. A bit of olive oil or sour cream stirred in will up the creaminess factor without adding too many calories.
It is a perfect dip for summer with its cool, refreshing flavour. And it gains flavour as it sits so... make ahead!
These No Yeast Flatbreads are perfect for scooping this dip up as well!
Enjoy and please don't blame me if you end up sleeping on the couch!
Ingredients
- ½ large English cucumber unpeeled
- 1 cups plain yogurt thick like Balkan or Icelandic or Greek
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 large cloves garlic crushed
- 2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Grate the cucumber with the large side of a box grater into a sieve over a bowl and allow to drain 20 minutes. Press out as much liquid as you can after the 20 minutes are up.
- Drain off any visible liquid from the yogurt. Allow yogurt to drain for 20 minutes in a separate sieve. (If your yogurt is thin then you may want to line the sieve with cheesecloth and drain yogurt over a bowl in the fridge overnight as well,) Add the olive oil, garlic and salt and cucumber and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve with Pita bread, baguette or raw vegetables for dipping.
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