Swiss Chard Tzatziki (Yogurt Dip)
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Tzatziki is a Greek dip made with yogurt, olive oil, garlic, and cucumbers. This version (from Martha Stewart Living) replaces the cucumbers with Swiss chard and is delightful with toasted pita. Dad announced a couple weeks ago that he didn't like chard (my response - huh? since when?) and then proceeded to eat most of the tzatziki.
Swiss Chard Tzatziki (Yogurt Dip) Recipe
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Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped Swiss chard leaves (remove ribs*)
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
A dash of cayenne
3 (9-inch diameter) pita breads, cut like a pie into triangles
Olive oil for drizzling on to the pita bread
* See Brendon's notes on how to cut the ribs out of greens
Method
1 Bring a 1 or 2 quart saucepan, half filled with water, to a boil. Add the chopped chard leaves. Cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. While the chard is cooking, prepare a bowl with ice water for an ice bath. When the chard is cooked, strain through a fine mesh strainer and put into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
2 Using mortar and pestle, grind the garlic and salt into a paste. In a medium-sized bowl, stir in the yogurt, chard, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
3 Cut the pita bread into triangles and layout in one layer in a broiling pan (use a sturdy broiling pan, not a cookie sheet or your cookie sheet will warp). Drizzle olive oil on one side of the pita wedges. Use a pastry brush to spread the olive oil more evenly. Place in a broiler. Broil for 5 minutes or until the pita bread starts to toast. Remove and let cool for a minute.
Serve the tzatziki with the pita wedges.
Serves 4.
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for way better results with the yogurt, prepare it the night before. place two paper towells in a collander or strainer, then pour all your yogurt in that. sit it atop a bowl to collect the water, and let it sit in your fridge overnight.
the result is extremely creamy yogurt and closer to the type they use in the mediterranean. :)