Tzatziki--Cucumber Salad with Homemade Greek Yogurt

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I picked the first Armenian cucumber today from the garden (the cold and the deer slowed their arrival) so I had to use one in one of my favorite salads: a simple Tzatziki, or Greek yogurt and cucumber salad.

Because I make my own yogurt at least once a week, I also make my own Greek yogurt. Even if you don't make your own yogurt, you can easily create a Greek style yogurt at home minus the hefty price tag. Greek yogurt is sometimes called strained yogurt because the whey is strained from regular yogurt. It is thick, tangy and so popular these days that Greek yogurt sales have grown nearly tenfold in the past few years.

To make Greek yogurt, pour plain yogurt into a strainer lined with cheesecloth, place the strainer over a bowl, and put in the refrigerator over night. That's it. In the morning, the bowl will be filled with whey (which my puppy loves!). Squeeze the remaining whey out of the cheesecloth and then scrape from the cheesecloth the thick Greek yogurt.

In a bowl, whisk together:
1 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
2 finely minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 c Greek yogurt

To this add finely chopped cucumbers, salt and pepper and stir to coat the cukes. I also added fresh dill since I have it in the garden. Chill several hours.


For an early post on making yogurt, scroll down the page and in the right hand column listing the labels, click on Yogurt.