recipephile

Tzatziki With Mint, Basil and Meyer Lemon

The other day I posted a recipe for my twist on the traditional jambalaya. With the addition of cumin and saffron the flavor reminded me of Middle Eastern food. So I decided to serve it with something cool and refreshing that would complement the flavors of the dish.

If you've eaten a Gyro (spoken by many as Jyro, but traditionally pronounced Yeero) before or had a mezze at a Greek restaurant you have tried this dip. The traditional contains Greek yougurt, cucumbers, mint, dill, lemon, salt and pepper.

I had all of those ingredients, except for the dill, so I decided to pair the dish with my own version of tzatziki. It was a perfectly refreshing accompaniment to a spicy and flavorful dish.

Here is what you will need:

- 2 cups chopped cucumber

- 1 tbsp chopped mint

- 1 tbsp chopped basil

- 6 oz of non fat yogurt

- The juice of 1 meyer lemon

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix everything together (except for salt and pepper) and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to your liking. You can serve immediately, but I think tzatziki tastes better after setting in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Tzatziki goes great with grilled meats or as an appetizer dip served with toasted pita.

Arkadium Dip Contest - Spinach Lemon and Bean Dip

One of my clients, Arkadium (www.arkadium.com), is hosting a dip contest at their offices today. Since I am in San Francisco it was hard for me to compete so I emailed a recipe to my client and friend Tina Shih.  She raced home and prepared her version of a dip recipe that I sent to her.

After making my recipe she decided that it needed to be creamier so she added some Tina inspired touches and this is what she came up with:

- 1 can of cannelini beans
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bag of frozen spinach
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil (extra virgin)
- 1 tbsp of cream cheese, melted
- 1 tbsp of mayo
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
- salt
- pepper

Drain the beans and rinse, mince the garlic, squeeze all of the water out of the spinach, place all ingredients including lemon juice, but excluding salt and pepper into a bowl and mash with a fork so the beans get a little mooshy.  Taste and then add salt and pepper.  Serve with pita chips or crusty French bread.

Cross your fingers that we win!

Lemony Spinach Bean Dip

Many years ago my family and I used to go to this great Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh. For the life of me I cannot remember the name, but I do recall this great bean dip that they served at the beginning of every meal with the bread. It is so easy to make. This is my version, I added tomato and cheese. Here is all you'll need to make this tasty dip...