By Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff

This summer has been unusually hot in the San Francisco Bay Area, which normally has mild summers.  So, everyone is looking for cooling recipes, such as salads, dips and cold sauces.  

My latest favorite is Tzatziki, a Greek sauce made with cucumber, yogurt and fresh herbs. It works well as a sandwich base – a welcome change to mayonnaise – and it makes great dip for chips, crackers, bread sticks and vegetables. 

Traditionally, tzatziki is made from sheep or goat’s milk yogurt, but a full-fat Greek yogurt has now been replaced in most modern tzatziki recipes. For a vegan alternative, a good quality probiotic coconut yogurt works fine as well. 

In addition to being delicious and cool, this sauce is also nutritious. The two main ingredients in this recipe, the yogurt (or vegan yogurt) and cucumbers, are good digestive aids.  Moreover, some health research findings indicate that cucumbers can prevent a range of health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. 

Ingredients:

1 large organic, English cucumber or 3 small Persian cucumbers (about 2 cups when grated)

2 cups Greek full fat yogurt (or for a vegan version 2 cups coconut full fat yogurt)

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh, minced dill, after removing thick stems

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced 

2 teaspoons (or to taste) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon (or to taste) salt

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves (optional) 

Select a firm and fresh organic English cucumber or a few firm Persian cucumbers. An organic cucumber is preferred here because the peel of cucumber, essential in this recipe, is often sprayed with chemicals. If organic cucumbers are unavailable, clean the commercial cucumbers well using a vegetable brush. Do not peel the cucumbers.  

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cucumber to measure about 2 cups.  Do not use a food processor for this task, as it will grate the cucumber too finely for this recipe. Then, squeeze as much liquid out of the cucumber as possible by pressing it with a fine sieve, or better yet, using a cheese cloth. This is an important step.  At the end of this process, you will end up with about a cup or a bit more grated pulp. Put the grated cucumber in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt (or coconut yogurt) with minced dill, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and the optional mint leaves. Then add the grated cucumber. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the lemon juice. (Vegan yogurt tends to be less sour and may need more lemon juice.) Transfer the tzatziki to a serving bowl. 

Serve the tzatziki with raw or roasted vegetables and wedges of pita bread or crackers. The sauce can be also used as a dip for appetizers such as spanakopita or empanada. 

Recipes by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, copyright 2024. Shanta is a Sunset District resident and the author of “Cooking Together” and “Flavors of India,” available at Other Avenues Food Store at 3930 Judah St. Shanta writes recipes and articles on food and nutrition. She teaches vegetarian and vegan cooking classes at her home and gives cooking demonstrations for the public at SFPL branches frequently which you can find by viewing San Francisco Public Library’s event page. You can also view her recipes via videos on YouTube by searching Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff’s YouTube videos.