Tzatziki And Tomato Appetizers Recipes

SUN-DRIED TOMATO TZATZIKI RECIPE

Steps:

• Thoroughly combine all ingredients into a bowl.
• Let sit for at least 1 hour (preferably longer). The flavors will marry and tomatoes will soak up some of the moisture to make a thicker spread.
• Serve as a dip with bread and crudités, or as an accompaniment to a variety of different dishes.

AUTHENTIC TZATZIKI - GREEK GARLIC YOGURT DIP

Steps:

• Crush the garlic with a little bit of salt and pepper.
• Peel the cucumber and grate. Squeeze well to get rid of water.
• Whip the yogurt in a bowl and then add the garlic paste, mixing well and then add the cucumber and mix again.
• Start adding small amounts of olive oil alternating with the vinegar while mixing.
• Add about 2 teaspoons fresh dill and mix well.
• Let it sit at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Rinse and pat dry tomatoes, cut off lids and scrape out pulp. Drain on paper towels with the openings downwards.
• Whisk yogurt with quark and lemon juice. Rinse and halve cucumber lengthwise, scrape out seeds and grate finely, squeeze out juice. Peel garlic and squeeze through a garlic press. Mix parsley, garlic and cucumber with yogurt mixture. Season with salt and pepper, fill tomatoes with the mixture and arrange on plates. Garnish with parsley and serve.

HOMEMADE PLAIN GREEK YOGURT

Steps:

• Heat milk in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until it is steaming, barely bubbling and registers 180 degrees F on an instant-read or candy thermometer. (Do not leave unattended--it can boil over very quickly.)
• Carefully pour the milk into a clean, heat-safe 5- to 8-cup container. Let stand, stirring frequently, until cooled to 110 degrees F. Combine yogurt with 1/2 cup of the 110 degrees milk in a small bowl, then stir the mixture back into the warm milk.
• Cover the container and wrap in a clean kitchen towel to help keep it warm. Place in a very warm place (see Tip) and let stand, undisturbed, until thickened and tangy, at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. The yogurt will thicken a bit more in the refrigerator.
• Line a large fine-mesh sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Spoon the cooled yogurt into the cheesecloth, cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours, depending on how thick you want it.

MEDITERRANEAN 7-LAYER DIP

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together with a mixer.
• Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add more garbanzo bean liquid and process if you want it thinner.
• To assemble: Spread tzatziki sauce in the bottom of a shallow serving dish or pie plate. Spread hummus on top. Top with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, feta, and parsley.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours to let the flavors meld before serving. Serve with pita chips.

GREEK MEATBALLS WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
• Add the onion, saute 4-5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, saute for an additional minute, then remove from the heat.
• In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, diced tomato, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper and ground cloves.
• Add the parmesan cheese, feta cheese, breadcrumbs, egg and cooked onions and garlic.
• Use your hands to mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.
• Form the mixture into approximately 28 golf ball sized meatballs.
• In the same skillet you cooked the onions and garlic, add the additional 1 tbsp olive oil and place on the stove over medium high heat.
• Add the meatballs to the skillet and sear on all sides for 3-4 minutes.
• Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking for an additional 20 minutes. (You can also bake the meatballs in the oven or grill them, see notes below for further instructions.)
• Prepare the Tzatziki sauce by combining all of the ingredients for the sauce in a medium mixing bowl.
• Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.

20 EASY CUCUMBER APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Select your favorite recipe.
• Organize all the required ingredients.
• Prep a cucumber appetizer in 30 minutes or less!

TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Peel cucumber if desired (it adds a faint texture and a will lightly tint the dip, but this is optional to peel). Slice cucumber in half throught the length and use a spoon to remove seeds.
• Chop cucumber into chunks, then add to a food processor.**** Pulse until cucumber is almost finely chopped.
• Remove blade from food processor, then press cucumber against the sides of the processor bowl to remove some of the excess liquid, reserve liquid (proceed to step 1 in notes if you aren't using a very thick Greek yogurt).
• Add yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice to a medium mixing bowl. Season with salt, and pepper if using, to taste.
• Stir mixture until well blended. If you find it's a little thick for your liking you can pour in some of the reserved cucumber juice from the food processor.
• If serving over warm food (like salmon, chicken, steak, gyro or cooked veggies) let rest at room temperature about 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator.

BRIE WITH SUNDRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Remove the rind from the Brie with a sharp knife and put the Brie on a serving plate
• In a small bowl combine the parsley, the Parmesan, the sun-dried tomatoes, the garlic, and the basil, and add the reserved oil, and combine the mixture well
• Spread the mixture over the Brie and let the Brie stand for 1 hour before serving
• Serve the Brie with the crackers or Parmesan Toasts

TZATZIKI AND TOMATO APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Peel cucumber, halve lengthwise, scrape out seeds and grate cucumber finely or cut into small cubes. Season with salt and let stand for about 10 minutes. Drain well and squeeze with your hands, combine with yogurt. Peel garlic and squeeze through a garlic press, add to yogurt mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the dough: combine flour with baking powder, salt and milk unitl smooth. Add eggs. Mix well to make thick batter.
• Heat clarified butter in a nonstick pan and pour batter by 1 tablespoon, making few pancakes at a time (total 15 pancakes). Cook on both sides for about 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown.
• Top each pancake with tzatziki and 1 piece of drained tomato. Garnish with fennel leaves and serve.

GREEK BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Slice the baguette with a serrated knife.
• Rub the baguette slices with the crushed garlic cloves.
• Brush with olive oil.
• Toast on a grill pan until pan marks show. (If you don't have a grill pan, toast in a toaster oven or a conventional oven until crispy.)
• Using a sharp knife, dice the red onion and English cucumber. Quarter the tomatoes.
• Combine the onion, cucumber and tomatoes in a large glass bowl.
• Measure out the feta cheese into the bowl.
• Using a large spoon, toss the ingredients until combined.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure out the olive oil and red wine vinegar.
• Zest the lemon directly into the liquid measuring cup with the other dressing elements. Season with salt and pepper.
• Whisk or mix with a fork until combined, then pour on top of the vegetables.
• Toss until combined.
• Using a butter knife, spread hummus OR tzatziki sauce on top of the toasted, garlicky bread.
• Spoon the topping on top of the hummus or tzatziki.
• Garnish with parsley.
• Enjoy immediately.

PORK SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Add cubed pork tenderloin, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dried oregano, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a large bowl and massage to coat pork thoroughly. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Transfer marinated pork to hot skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes, flipping periodically, until cooked through.
• Serve with warm Greek pitas, red onions, chopped tomatoes, and Tzatziki (see recipe).

GREEK TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Stir together yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Add lemon zest, dill, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth. Pour into a serving dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.