Nicole MacPherson: Meatless Mummy Con Carne

Jul
20
2015

OPA! Dairy-Free Tziatiki

TRAVELLING TO THE GREEK ISLANDS WITHOUT LEAVING MY KITCHEN

dairy-free tziatiki

I love Greek food. I love the flavours, I love how Mediterranean food is among the healthiest in the world, and I love how eating it transports me back to 1992, when I was almost seventeen and on a school trip to the Greek islands. I know! How lucky was I? 

*kisses for Greek cuisine*

Before we headed out on our trip, the group went to a local Greek restaurant, to have an idea about what to expect from the cuisine. I had never eaten any Greek food before, and I will admit I looked a little side-eyed at the description of tziatiki: yogurt with GARLIC and CUCUMBER? What? To me, back in the early nineties, yogurt was strawberry flavoured and would not be advisable to consume with garlic and cucumber.

Oh, what a provincial girl I was, and oh, what a world opened up to me the moment I tried it. It made me want to dance, or, in the language of the early nineties, it made me want to Vogue.

This dairy-free tziatiki is delicious, and it almost makes me want to strap on those gladiator sandals and candy-cane striped shorts again. Almost. Opa!

Dairy Free Tziatiki

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup cucumber, grated
sea salt for sprinkling
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice

 

Directions

  Spread grated cucumber on a kitchen towel or paper towel, and sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit for 30 minutes; wrap in kitchen towel or paper towel and squeeze out excess liquid.

  Stir cucumber into the vegan sour cream or Greek yogurt, along with the garlic, salt, and lemon.

  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

 This tziatiki goes great with my favourite Ode to Joy Greek Salad or with pita and my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. Sometimes I just want to get my freak on; that's when I go for the Freekeh-Greek-eh Salad.