Wild garlic tzatziki
Τζατζίκι με άγριο σκόρδο
Published originally on my blog on 17 March 2018
Since we started talking about wild garlic and those flaky flatbreads on my last post, let’s now move on to the serious stuff. Let’s talk about tzatziki. And I’m not talking about regular Greek tzatziki, which is magnificent of course, but wild garlic tzatziki.
The wild garlic is a worthy substitute for the regular garlic cloves, adding a herby flavor and a more gentle garlic aftertaste without, however, being any less sharp or properly garlicky, which is exactly what you seek when you crave tzatziki.
Others will have you strain the cucumber before adding it to the tzatziki but I have never done that in my life and my tzatziki is always thick and proper. Yes, cucumber has a high water content and some of it will leak into your tzatziki making it a bit thinner, seeing, though, that real Greek tzatziki is made with thick, full-fat Greek yoghurt, the cucumber liquid leakage, especially in the time it takes from making the tzatziki to serving it on the same day (I wouldn’t advise you to make it in advance, it’s best served the day of) is minimal. The yoghurt is thick enough to not really be affected by this negligible amount of cucumber liquid. What would be ideal, however, is if you scooped out the center of the cucumber where all the seeds and most liquid are, before using it, even though I don’t do that every time and really don’t have an issue.
This wild garlic tzatziki goes superbly with these wild garlic (or regular garlic) Greek biftekia (meat patties/burgers) served with my Greek braided koulouria/simitia (Πολίτικα σιμίτια/κουλούρια).
