While similar to traditional tzatziki with its yogurt, garlic, and lemon base, beet tzatziki offers the sweet earthy flavor of fresh beets. An added bonus is the beautiful color of these delicious root vegetables.
I used red and white Chioggia beets for this tzatziki, making the dip a lovely shade of pink. You can use red beets for a brilliant fuchsia dip. One of the benefits of using Chioggia beets is that you don’t need to don gloves and an apron as with the classic red beets. Chioggia beets don’t leave much of a stain.
You can use leftover tzatziki for a sandwich spread, a topping for a grain and veggie bowl, or thin it with a little milk and use it to dress a salad.
This recipe makes about 1 1/3 cups of dip.
Tips
- I recommend whole-milk Greek yogurt for full flavor. You can use low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- If the yogurt is at all runny, strain it through a cheesecloth in a sieve for several hours to remove the liquid.
- You can use labneh instead of yogurt. If you do, you’ll want a little extra lemon juice and watch the salt, because labneh often has salt added.
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients to make beet tzatziki.
- 1 medium Chiogga or red beet
- 1 cup plain, thick Greek yogurt
- 1/2 – 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Directions
Wash and peel the beet. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the beet.
Add the yogurt to a a medium-size bowl. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and the garlic. Add the grated beet and stir it. Stir in a little salt and pepper. Let it sit for a little while, so that the flavors merge. Taste it again and add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper as needed.
Serve beet tzatziki with raw vegetables, pita chips, or pita bread for dipping.
Related Topics
You might enjoy these recipes.