Print the recipe card!  roasted garlic tzatziki

Tzatziki is a traditional Greek dip made from yogurt, cucumber and mint.  This recipe is a tzatziki wanna be since I subbed in water chestnuts for the cucumber but it’s still good, so why not?  On top of that, I’m taking all kinds of liberties by including real garlic in a recipe here …so here’s my reasoning.  From what I understand freshly harvested garlic can be stored for up to 6 months in a cool dry place, so that atleast puts it in a short term (3 month) storage category. Of course you could always substitute garlic powder in it’s place if needed.

The biggest key to this dip is how long you strain the yogurt ahead of time over cheesecloth.  24 hours is the goal after which you’ll be left with an almost soft cheese consistency.  This dip is wonderful for spreading on crusty bread!

Prep time:  15 minutes

Ingredients

1 can whole waterchestnuts

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp. dried mint

1 garlic bulb, roasted

2 cups well strained yogurt

Instructions:

Place yogurt over cheesecloth set in a strainer and allow to strain for 24 hours.

Chop the head off of the garlic to expose the tops of the cloves and drizzle garlic with olive oil (cut side up) in a small ramekin.  Cover the bowl with foil and roast at 375 degrees until the cut sides of the garlic are lightly browned and the garlic is very soft, about 45 minutes.  Allow the garlic to cool and then gently squeeze the garlic paste out from the papery peeling into a small mixing bowl.

Separately, grate or chop the water chestnuts and pat dry as much as possible using a paper towel.  Into the same mixing bowl as the garlic, add the water chestnuts, strained yogurt, mint, lemon juice and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste or add a bit of garlic powder if you think it needs it.  Serve with crusty bread or pitas.

The strained yogurt after 24 hours.

Roasting the garlic…

I shredded half the water chestnuts and chopped the other half a little more coarsely for a little crunch.

Yum!  Those 24 hours of waiting are all worth it!

I’m taking a week off of the blog to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family next week.  There’s so much to be thankful for, I hope you have a wonderful holiday too!  See you back in a couple weeks!

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Notes:

• The original recipe for this (minus the water chestnuts) can be found here courtesy of All Recipes.

• I haven’t tried it yet but I can imagine using this strained yogurt in all kinds of yummy creations — artichoke dip or spinach dip are a couple that first come to mind.   And this consistency would be much better for a sour cream substitute than the yogurt I made at first.  Even though it was thick to begin with this is better.  Any experience out there to add?  What do you like using this type of yogurt in?