Greek Tzatziki Sauce

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 8 ounces plain yogurt (or greek yogurt, if your store carries it)
• 1/2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely chopped or 1/2 peeled grated cucumber
• 2 ounces sour cream
• 1 small pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 mint leaves, finely minced or 1/4 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced

Recipe

• 1 place yogurt in a coffee filter or piece of cheesecloth, and place in a strainer over a dish. let drain for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. if using greek yogurt you do not need to drain it, as it is already a thick consistency.
• 2 meanwhile, put the chopped or grated cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove liquid. discard liquid. sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and mix into the cucumber. set aside 20 minutes. rinse a little to wash out the extra salt, if you want to. then squeeze again to express as much liquid as possible.
• 3 draining the yogurt and cucumber make for a thick and authentic consistency of tzatziki sauce.
• 4 combine the drained yogurt and cucumber, sour cream, pinch of salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mint and garlic. note: we love garlic, so i tried adding more once. it made for an overpowering and almost bitter taste, so now i stick to only 1 clove.
• 5 place sauce in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more to meld flavors. stir before serving. the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. makes 1 1/4 cups.