Roast Garlic: Take an an entire bulb of garlic and cut off the ends (sides). Pour olive oil on it and wrap in aluminum foild. Bake! 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
This is awesome. Made it with fresh Dill instead of the Mint. Next time I will try the more traditional approach and use Goat Yogurt. Update (18 Mar 11): Living in Toronto we have a massive Greek population and the well known Danforth (Greek Town). Many of my friends are Greek and it was well recommended to use Goat Milk Yogurt (Greek Yogurt). So this time around I made it properly. Strained the Goat Yogurt for 24 hours. The thicker it is the better the outcome. Try it you won't be sorry.
This was a most excellent tzatziki! I didn't see any reason to strain the greek yogurt as what I used (Greek Gods brand) was very thick already. However, I did make sure to get as much water as possible out of the cucumber. Also used dill (instead of mint) and 2 regular sized whole garlic bulbs. Texture and weight were perfect! Loved that there wasn't mayo or sour cream in this recipe. It's a keeper....am making more today!!
I've made this a few times as is and it's a very good recipe. I experimented with using minced borage and lemon balm from the garden in place of the cucumber and lemon juice and it turned out perfectly thick without losing any of the flavor (plus it saved some time). Fun to try if you have the ingredients around. Makes a wonderful dip for fresh vegetables.
We eat this at least once a week. I use three roasted garlic cloves and 1-2 raw ones. I also use red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice. A dash of Cavenders Greek Seasoning finishes off my version.
After leaving in Greece for several years and being taught how to make the real thing I was OK with trying the roasted garlic because it would give it more flavor but NO way to put mint in it.
How much raw garlic is 2 tablespoons? I used a whole bulb of roasted garlic but it was too mellow for us to taste it enough just after making it and then the next day. I added another couple of raw cloves and the rest of the strained cucumber just before serving.
YUM! This was a last minute decision so I couldn't allow the yogurt to drain overnight but other than that I made this exactly as directed aside from halving the recipe. I think next time I'll add even more roasted garlic for a bigger garlic flavor though. I was glad to come across this recipe and I will be making it again! Thanks for sharing.:)
Very good overall. I didn't have roasted garlic (and couldn't make because the oven was broken) so I used pureed garlic instead. I didn't find it overpowering but I would like to try it with roasted garlic next time. I might also use more mint and lemon juice as well as a little ground pepper. Served it with freshly toasted pita triangles (toasted on the grill) as part of a Greek menu for dinner and everything went together well. I will make this again!
