Saved, yet again, by a well-stocked freezer: My Merguez sausages made a great last-minute appetizer. 
I grilled the sausages crisp, sliced them on the bias and served them with tzaziki, warm flatbread wedges and baby carrots. It was fairly quick and quite savory. My presentation was a bit more grand than what is pictured at right; I assembled that quickly in my kitchen just to photograph it before leaving for the get-together. All components traveled well and were assembled with ease, even in front of people, for future reference.
People went for the tzatziki (or tzaziki) more than I expected, so I ended up slicing some bell pepper for dipping. It is good, actually, as just a dip, and also as a sandwich topping or filling for a rolled flatbread sandwich (in addition to use with gyros and souvlaki) or spooned over grilled, sliced chicken breast on a salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
The Merguez entry and recipe are here; Tzatziki is as follows:
A cup of plain, Greek yogurt; or 1 cup of plain yogurt, drained well.
One cucumber,
Handful of finely chopped Italian parsley
1 T. fresh lemon juice
S & P
Peel, seed and shred your cucumber. Press it “dry” using layers of paper towel or a clean, non-terry kitchen towel.
Combine all of the above and let “stew” before serving. Adjust lemon, S & P to taste. Fresh mint is also a very good and traditional addition, if that suits your taste. However, I almost always toast and crush coriander seeds and sprinkle them in to the final blend. There is something lemony, earthy and spicy about the coriander when treated that way.
Now, this is my own recipe. I should look one up one of these days for an “official” version, but this is what I’ve been making for a while now. However, with the sudden plethora of choices of good, thick Greek yogurts, the tzaziki has gotten better and better. You don’t even need to drain the Greek yogurt, unlike using a store-brand plain.
I grilled the sausages crisp, sliced them on the bias and served them with tzaziki, warm flatbread wedges and baby carrots. It was fairly quick and quite savory. My presentation was a bit more grand than what is pictured at right; I assembled that quickly in my kitchen just to photograph it before leaving for the get-together. All components traveled well and were assembled with ease, even in front of people, for future reference.
People went for the tzatziki (or tzaziki) more than I expected, so I ended up slicing some bell pepper for dipping. It is good, actually, as just a dip, and also as a sandwich topping or filling for a rolled flatbread sandwich (in addition to use with gyros and souvlaki) or spooned over grilled, sliced chicken breast on a salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
The Merguez entry and recipe are here; Tzatziki is as follows:
A cup of plain, Greek yogurt; or 1 cup of plain yogurt, drained well.
One cucumber,
Handful of finely chopped Italian parsley
1 T. fresh lemon juice
S & P
Peel, seed and shred your cucumber. Press it “dry” using layers of paper towel or a clean, non-terry kitchen towel.
Combine all of the above and let “stew” before serving. Adjust lemon, S & P to taste. Fresh mint is also a very good and traditional addition, if that suits your taste. However, I almost always toast and crush coriander seeds and sprinkle them in to the final blend. There is something lemony, earthy and spicy about the coriander when treated that way.
Now, this is my own recipe. I should look one up one of these days for an “official” version, but this is what I’ve been making for a while now. However, with the sudden plethora of choices of good, thick Greek yogurts, the tzaziki has gotten better and better. You don’t even need to drain the Greek yogurt, unlike using a store-brand plain.
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