Tzatziki Sauce (Cucumber Yogurt sauce)
 

Hi!

We had leftover Spanish Spice Rub Chicken (from the SBD Cookbook) and I made this Tzatziki Sauce to go with it. For Phase One, I would just dip the chicken in the sauce. Since I'm on Phase 2, I put the chicken in a WW pita with lettuce and tomatoes and spooned the sauce on top. Delicious!

Tzatziki Sauce
1/2 cup FF Plain Yogurt
1/2 cup to 1 cup (your taste) diced English cucumber, no peel
1 small clove of garlic
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
Lawry's Seasoning Salt to taste

Combine yogurt, cucumber, and mint with Lawry's seasoning salt to taste. Squeeze garlic in a garlic press into the mixture and stir. Let sit for five to thirty minutes to blend flavors and serve!

Other than bad garlic breath that afternoon, this was easily one of the best meals I have had on SBD! Enjoy!

Here is a recipe I used for tzatziki, just slight variation.

The recipe I used was the following (though you could omit the olive oil if you want, but it is a good fat and a little is in it for the amount of it that is made) Feel free to omit the red wine vinegar too if you don't have it. Oh also, recipe calls for lowfat plain yogurt, I used fatfree plain yogurt.

Tzatziki
Ingredients
1 container (16 ounces) plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 English (seedless) cucumber, not peeled, seeded and finely chopped plus a few thin slices
1/1-2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or dill plus additional sprigs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Instructions
Spoon yogurt into sieve lined with cheesecloth or coffee filter set over bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight. Transfer drained yogurt to medium bowl and discard liquid.

Meanwhile, in colander set over bowl, toss chopped cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt. Let drain at least 1 hour at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours. In batches, wrap chopped cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Pat dry with paper towels, then add to bowl with yogurt.

With flat side of chef's knife, mash garlic to a paste with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add garlic, chopped mint, oil, vinegar, and pepper to yogurt and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 or up to 4 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature, topped with cucumber slices and mint sprigs.

Yield: about 1-1/2 cups

Per tablespoon: about 17 calories, 1 gram protein, 1 gram carbohydrate, 1 gram total fat (0 gram saturated), 1 mg cholesterol, 182 mg sodium.

I make my Tzatziki a bit different too. I learned from my Greek friend in the international hall in college and I've made it this way for over 10 years now.

1 large container (17.6oz.) of fage 0% greek yogurt
4 to 10 cloves of garlic, grated
1/2 cup of diced or grated cucumber (Kirby or "English"), strained for at least 15 minutes
1 spring of mint (maybe 10 leaves), julienned
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice

To make it less watery, strain the cucumber in cheese cloth over a bowl or, take a plastic mini storage bag and cut a slit in it about 7 times across the bottom of the bag. Add cucumber to it and squeeze out excess water.

Combine all the ingredients and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. YUMMY!

Jenne1017, do you peel the cucumber?

Jenne's not around much but leave the skin on - more fibre and colour!

Sorry - I use English cucumber and leave the skin on!