Recipe: Tzatziki (using mint, again!)
The cucumbers aren't quite ready yet, but the mint is growing like crazy. Tzatziki is pretty much a staple in this house with pittas- and helpfully, uses mint.
We did make a discovery while adapting tzatziki recipes to try and use what we have growing: Unlike tabbouleh, which can take a huge amount of mint (and parsley, obviously, being basically a mint and parsley salad) and weirdly not particularly taste of either mint or parsley, tzatziki cannot take all that much mint without becoming utterly, utterly inedible.
I repeat: Do not overdo the mint in the tzatziki unless you want a comic fire breathing help-help-I-just-chewed-a-whole-pack-of-extra-strong-mints moment. It was not good! In fact, it was probably the worst thing I have ever made- even including the fabled Beetroot Soup Jam incident and the Awful Sorrel Omlettes. At least it was possible to eat a couple of mouthfuls of those. Or more, if you really like beetroot jam...
Anyway, below is the recipe for the nice, slightly minty, just the thing for pittas or beside curries or pilau- type tzatziki. Just make sure you follow the mint quantities carefully!
Ingredients (serves 6)
Half a pot of natural yoghurt
Half a cucumber
Tips of 3-4 sprigs of mint (about 4 leaves on each)
You will also need A sharp knife and chopping board
A spoon
A bowl
Method
Finely chop the mint
Halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out the seeds (fingers work well for this). Eat or discard the seeds- they'll make the tzaztiki go runny if you put them in it.
Stir the mint and cucumber into the yoghurt.
Serve.
Tzaztiki is a great side dish or dip. You can add all sorts of extra flavours- paprika or chilli are obvious options, but you could try switching the herbs or substituting peppers for the cucumber, too. But one last time- don't use too much mint!