Tzatziki (Cacik)
If I had to live on one food for the rest of my life, it would be this. We all know it now as tzatziki (Greek name) but in Turkish we call in cacik. It’s packed with probiotics and protein thanks to the Greek yogurt and it just tastes so damn good. When I say I put that shit on everything…I literally do. Like peanut butter is to jelly…Köfte is to cacik. If you are making my Köfte recipe (and you should) you MUST pair it with this. You will honestly never buy store bought tzatziki ever again. You can eat this as a dip with veggies or toasted pita bread. You can use this as a topping for meat or starches. I love to add this to pasta or potatoes ugh it is just sooo delicious. I could write for hours about how delicious it is honestly so try it for yourself. ALSO - if you are dairy free - I actually have a dairy free recipe for you as well! Just a few substitutes. I will add that to the notes below. Here is everything you will need:
Ingredients:
1 English Cucumber (I always recommend organic)
6 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tb Fresh Chopped Dill
2 Tb Fresh Chopped Mint
2 - 2.5 C Organic Full Fat Plain Greek Yogurt** see notes for DF
2 T Sea Salt
Directions:
First step - the game changing step - roast your garlic!!! I usually throw mine in a ramekin and put it in the air fryer for around 7 minutes. If you dont have an air fryer, wrap the garlic in aluminum foil, drizzle a little olive oil, and bake in oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. Or you can go the quick n efficient approach, throw some olive oil on a skillet, add garlic, cook on medium heat for 10-15 min. You only need to use about 1 tb of olive oil.
As the garlic is roasting, grate the english cucumber into a bowl and add the fresh herbs. Do NOT squeeze the juice of the cucumber. Full fat Greek yogurt tends to be very thick so the extra juice in the cucumber will help the overall consistency of the tzatziki.
Once the garlic is roasted you will need to mash it. I recommend adding half the salt in with the garlic to mash - it helps puree the garlic and bring out the aromas. I use a mortar and pestle to mash mine. Then add that in with the cucumbers and herbs, add in the rest of the salt and the yogurt. Mix together and either serve immediately or store to serve later. Usually stays fresh in the fridge for about 5 days!
**Notes: If you are making a dairy free tzatziki, I recommend using the brand Kite Hill and using almond yogurt. Then adding zest of 1 lemon to the recipe (grate the outside of the lemon into the tzatziki) and 1 tb of lemon juice.
P.S. Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you make this because I love seeing you all make my recipes! @stay.wellwithmel - I also have a step-by-step reel of how to make this here
