Athenian Sauce Recipes

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Use a box grater to manually grate the cucumbers or you can use a small food processor to finely chop the cucumbers as I do in this recipe. Toss the grated cucumbers with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Spoon the grated cucumber into a cheese cloth or a double thickness napkin and squeeze dry. (There will be a lot of liquid).
• In one large mixing bowl, place the garlic with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, white vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix to combine.
• Add the grated cucumber to the bowl with the garlic mixture. Stir in the yogurt, and a pinch of white or black pepper, and the fresh herbs (if using. I did not use fresh herbs in the video). Stir to combine well.
• Cover and refrigerate for a bit (anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours before serving). This will help thicken the sauce and give it the best texture, while allowing the flavors to meld.
• When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with your favorite veggies, pita chips or wedges (be sure to read the post for more ideas on how to use this sauce)!

TRADITIONAL GREEK SKORDALIA (GARLIC AND POTATO DIP)

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes cut in cubes and boil in water until soft, about 15 -20 minutes
• Once boiled, strain and mix with a hand mixer or potato masher until somewhat smooth.
• In a food processor process the garlic cloves with a bit of salt, and a few drops of olive oil until it is a paste.
• Add ½ of the olive oil in the food processor and continue mixing.
• Add the garlic paste to the potato and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Add the rest of the olive oil gradually, in a steady stream mixing until oil is absorbed.
• Add a bit of red wine vinegar for taste, mix well.

TRADITIONAL GREEK TZATZIKI RECIPE

Steps:

• Shred the cucumber and if it is very watery drain it through the strainer. You can also leave it to drain for half hour or even over night in a fridge.
• Add minced garlic, chopped dill, yogurt, olive oil, vinegar and salt. Let the flavors merge for at least half hour.
• Serve it with grilled meats, veggies or as an appetizer with pita bread.

TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel and finely dice the cucumber, or you can grate on the large holes of a box grater if preferred. Transfer to a bowl lined with a cheesecloth* and sprinkle cucumbers with 1/2 tsp salt and give them a light stir. Set aside for the cucumbers to release their juice while you prep the remaining ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves, chopped dill, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, or season to taste.
• Use the cheesecloth to squeeze out as much juice as you can from your chopped cucumber. You'll be surprised how much juice comes out. Discard the juice and add squeezed cucumber to your mixing bowl.
• Stir everything to combine and season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve. I love serving drizzled with a little more extra virgin olive oil.

EASY GREEK TZATZIKI SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the cucumber.
• Wrap the minced cucumber in a kitchen towel and squeeze over the sink to release as much water as possible.
• Stir the cucumber into the bowl.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix everything together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. (Can be made a day ahead.) Try it drizzled over slow-cooked Greek lamb with chickpea salad.

PENNSYLVANIA GREEK SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is completely brown; drain. Stir the onions, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and yellow mustard into the beef. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium-low and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

GREEK MEAT SAUCE WITH SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add ground beef and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Saute until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat, leaving fat in pot, and set beef aside.
• Add onion to pot and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute.
• Pour red wine into pan and let cook for 1 minute, scraping up any burned pieces of food on the pot of the pot.
• Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, mint, oregano, cinnamon, all spice, cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir well. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and let simmer, uncovered, until sauce is very thick, about 1 hour.
• While sauce is simmering, cook noodles according to package directions.
• When sauce has finished simmering, stir in butter and sugar until both are well incorporated.
• Serve sauce over pasta.

RED SNAPPER WITH ATHENIAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine green bell pepper, tomato, onion, olive oil, olives, lemon juice, green onion, capers, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Saute until all ingredients are slightly wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
• Heat olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add snapper fillets to hot oil. Sprinkle Greek seasoning on top and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn fish over and cook on the other side for 2 more minutes. Turn fish back to the original side and finish cooking until fish is tender and flakes easily with a fork, another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pour still-hot Athenian sauce over fish just before serving. Sprinkle about 2 ounces feta cheese and 1 tablespoon of parsley over each portion.

ATHENIAN CHICKEN AND SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pan and cook chicken until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
• Add in the onion garlic and pepper and sauté until chicken is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• While chicken and vegetables are cooking, cook the broth, lemon juice, lemon peel, and oregano in a small pot; bring to a boil.
• Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, broth should reduce down to about 1/2 cup.
• Serve chicken topped with sauce and olives sprinkled on top.

AUTHENTIC GREEK TZATZIKI (GYRO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Grate the cucumber and optionally sprinkle with salt (this will help extract the excess liquid). Set aside for 10 minutes.I say that the salt is optional because the cucumber juice that you squeeze from the cucumber is delightful as a drink - but maybe not so much if it's salty!
• Place the rested cucumber into a nut milk back or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze out as much excess water as possible.Alternatively, you can salt the cucumbers and leave them in a colander to naturally drain with the help of gravity (this will provide the best texture of the cucumber). However, this will take a far longer resting time (like overnight!), so I usually avoid it.
• Finely chop the dill and grate or mince the garlic. If you need help peeling garlic, I've tried and tested several methods previously.
• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
• For the best flavor, allow the Greek sauce to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours but even better overnight. This will give the flavors a chance to properly meld together and tastes better than directly after making it.
• Before serving, give it one last taste and adjust any of the ingredients if needed (more salt, acidity, etc. Then drizzle with a bit of additional olive oil, and enjoy!
• Store: If you've carefully drained the cucumber, then leftover tzatziki sauce will last, covered, in the refrigerator for between 3-4 days.

ATHENIAN CHICKEN: INSPIRED BY THE FLAVORS OF GREECE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Pound chicken breasts flat*-they should uniformly be about 3/8-inch thick.
• Combine 3 tablespoons of minced herbs with garlic and 1/3 of the cheese.
• Lay out breasts with what was the skin-side down, lightly season breasts with salt and pepper then spread half of cheese/herb mixture on each breast, roll up, and either tie with twine or pin with toothpicks.
• Heat oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, then, treating the breasts as though they're 3-sided, brown on 2 sides-about 3 minutes per side. Turn unbrowned side down and place skillet in the oven on the middle rack and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.
• Remove skillet from oven and place breasts on a plate and tent with foil.
• Being very careful of the hot handle, add wine to the cast-iron skillet over medium heat and scrape up browned bits. Reducing wine by about half.
• Add half and half and bring to a simmer. Add remaining herbs (reserving a couple of pinches for a final garnish), feta, white pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Cook for about 30 seconds.
• Plate chicken breasts, removing twine or toothpicks, pour the sauce over them and sprinkle with a final pinch of herbs. (For a colorful and nutrient-rich meal, you might want to serve this with roasted cherry tomatoes, microgreens, fresh peas, and either orzo , couscous or rice.)
• Serve and enjoy.