Tzatziki Recipe
/Nothing betters eating outdoors in the summer months in Burgundy and wether we are enjoying a cycling picnic or a bbq in the garden, we eat outside as often as we can.
In these warm summer months the vegetable garden is working its hardest. This year we had a superb crop of cucumbers. Hidden under curly tendrils and hairy leaves the plump fruit waits to be picked.
Various varieties of mint also enjoy the garden here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge, making the most of the wet soil on the banks of the mill stream.
Take this fresh mint and a cucumber and mix it through with creamy greek yogurt and you have refreshing and cooling dish that is as welcome on a cycling picnic as it is with grilled meat from the bbq.
- Three small cucumbers (one large one)
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Three cloves of garlic, pressed
- Handful of chopped mint
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
1. Peel the cucumbers and make sure to keep the skin for the compost.
2. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthways and carefully spoon out the seeds.
3. Now pass each cucumber through a grater or use the grating tool on your blender. Be sure not to lose any fingertips as you push the cucumbers down into the blender.
4. Line a colander with a clean tea-towel or cheese cloth. Put the grated cucumber in the tea-towel. Push down with your hands and drain away as much of the juice as you can. Do drink it if you have a hangover!
5. Place the grated cucumber in a mixing bowl and add the crushed garlic and yogurt. Mix through with a spoon until the yogurt and cucumber have become one.
6. Add the chopped mint, lemon juice and season with plenty of ground black pepper and a few good pinches of salt.
7. Cover the bowl in cling-film and set aside for an hour before serving. This will allow all the flavours to come together.
7. Garnish with a good swirl or olive oil, a few twists of black pepper and a sprig of mint.
Wine Pairing: 2012 Domaine A. & P. de Villaine Bouzeron
