Tzatziki is one of the most useful things you can have in your fridge. It works as a dip, a sauce for grilled meat, a spread on sandwiches, a side for spiced rice dishes, and a companion to almost anything off the barbecue. The commercial versions are a pale imitation: watery, under-seasoned, with none of the depth of a properly made tzatziki. The real thing takes about half an hour to make, plus an hour or two in the fridge, and keeps for a couple of days.
The Ingredients
500g full-fat Greek yoghurt, 1 medium cucumber (Lebanese cucumbers are ideal), 1 to 2 small garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill or mint (or more, to taste), 2 tablespoons good olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and half a teaspoon of salt for the cucumber. Full-fat Greek yoghurt is not optional here. America’s Test Kitchen warns that regular plain yoghurt makes a very watery sauce. For an even thicker tzatziki, drain the yoghurt in a muslin-lined sieve in the fridge for 2 hours first, as the Women’s Weekly recipe does.
The Method
Peel the cucumber. If it’s a large one with big seeds, halve it lengthways and scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon. Grate it coarsely into a bowl, stir through the half teaspoon of salt and leave it for 20 minutes. Then squeeze it hard in a clean tea towel (or in your hands over the sink) to get the water out. This step is critical. Skip it and the tzatziki turns watery as it sits. You’ll be surprised how much liquid comes out of a single cucumber.
Crush or very finely mince the garlic. Start with one clove. You can always stir in more once you’ve tasted it.
Stir the squeezed cucumber, garlic, chopped herbs, olive oil and lemon juice through the yoghurt. Taste, and season with more salt and a little pepper if it needs it. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving, so the flavours settle and it firms up.
Serving and Storage
Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and add a sprig of dill before serving. Serve with warm pita, raw vegetables, or alongside grilled chicken or lamb.
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, tzatziki keeps for up to 2 days. If it releases a little liquid as it sits, stir it back in. That’s normal with yoghurt-based dips.
Variations Worth Trying
Swap the herbs. Mint works as well as dill: the Women’s Weekly version uses mint alone, and America’s Test Kitchen uses mint, dill or a mix of both.
Troubleshooting
It’s watery. Almost always the cucumber. A single cucumber holds a surprising amount of water, and any left in will leak into the dip as it sits. Grate it, salt it, leave it 20 minutes, then squeeze it hard in a tea towel. Using thick Greek yoghurt rather than a runnier natural yoghurt also helps, and draining the yoghurt for a couple of hours helps more.
It’s too garlicky. Raw garlic is strong, so start with one small clove, taste, and add more only if it needs it. Crush or grate it finely so it spreads evenly.
It tastes flat. Under-seasoning is the most common fault. Tzatziki needs more salt than people expect, plus the lift of lemon. Add salt a pinch at a time, taste, and finish with enough lemon to brighten it.
Common Questions
Can I make it ahead? Yes. An hour or two in the fridge lets the flavours settle and the texture firm up, and it keeps for up to 2 days.
Can I freeze it? Not really. Yoghurt-based dips split and weep when thawed, and the cucumber goes limp. Tzatziki is quick enough to make fresh that freezing is not worth it.
Can I use low-fat yoghurt? You can, but the result is thinner and less satisfying. If low-fat is what you have, drain it in a muslin-lined sieve in the fridge for about 2 hours first to thicken it.
Sources
The method on this page is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s tzatziki and The Australian Women’s Weekly tzatziki, including the Women’s Weekly step of salting the cucumber first.
