This classic dip (pronounced zat-zee-key or chat-chee-kee, according to who you listen to) is the Greek variation on a common theme around the Mediterranean and Middle East, or what I like to think of as “the yoghurt zone” – see also Balkan tarator, Turkish cacik and Iranian mast-o-khiar.Personally, I rather like “taco chips” (though, after a week in Zante as a teenager, I prefer my tzatziki with Pringles), but he’s right: bland, watery versions, light on the cucumber and heavy on the cornflour have become the default option in many a dip quartet.Bear in mind that even full-fat Greek yoghurt is generally only 10% fat (and the biggest brand in this country, Fage – the renamed Total – is now half that).Because Fage have reduced the fat content of their yoghurt, and stopped using ewe’s milk, purists may want to use a more traditional brand, which can be easily found online.If you have time, I’d certainly recommend straining it, as Rebecca Seal suggests in her book The Islands of Greece, simply to make it even thicker and creamier.There are two things you can do to stop it in its tracks – scoop out and discard the watery middle, as Theodore Kyriakou suggests, or squeeze out the water, as most other recipes do.I’m also going to salt it and leave it to sit in accordance with the recipes in Belinda Harley’s lovely book Roast Lamb in the Olive Groves: A Mediterranean Cookbook and Tessa Kiros’s Falling Cloudberries.Grating obviously releases more liquid, but it also gives the dish a smoother texture; the version from Real Greek Food, though delicious, feels more like a cucumber salad with yoghurt.Harley notes that “there are two sorts of tzatziki” and, in Paxos, an island she has been visiting for more than 20 years, “I have heard it described as ‘hot’: it’s supposed to ignite your senses, not cool them.Tzatziki generally contains a little acid in the form of white wine vinegar, as used by Stein and Harley, or lemon juice, as deployed by Seal and Kiros.Everyone uses olive oil too, with Harley sticking in a “water glass full” which, unless hers are thimble sized, is a fairly generous slug.Well-drained Greek yoghurt should be creamy enough on its own, but brands vary, so I’d suggest starting with a couple of tablespoons, then adding more to taste if you think it lacks richness.If time allows, put the yoghurt in a sieve suspended above a bowl and leave to drain for a couple of hours.Just before serving, season to taste, adding more oil or vinegar if necessary, then finely chop the dill or mint (discarding the tough stems) and stir into the tzatziki.
Edward R. Forte
Author
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