This is a recipe I have made many times but never actually came to write a post about it. In a previous post, I showed you how I make my own yogurt. If you strain that yogurt, it becomes thick and creamy, perfect for tzatziki!

It is the end of the purslane season. Here and there some single plants are still coming up, but the seasons are changing slowly and the chickweed is coming up. I harvested some of the last purslane in my garden and coupled it with some of the younger leaves of the spekboom plants I am growing.

I stumbled upon some research long ago that said you should ideally eat foods rich in oxalic acid with foods high in either calcium or acids. If you eat foods high in oxalic acid with something like yogurt, it in some sense neutralizes the oxalic. (Or more complex, the calcium binds with the oxalic acid - or the other way round?) In any case, purslane is kind of high in oxalic acid so what better way than to use it in tzatziki?

This is by no means a traditional take on tzatziki. This is wholly my own recipe and take on it. I use none of the traditional ingredients except the yogurt of course. I hope that this recipe shows you that you can experiment with food! Without writing anymore, let me show you how I make this very simple yet transformed tzatziki!

Ingredients

For this recipe you will need:

• Purslane leaves,
• Spekboom leaves,
• Lemon basil leaves (optional),
• Garlic chives,
• Salt, and
• Yogurt.

Method

Strain the Yogurt

In the end, you want a creamy thick yogurt. If you made your own, or even store-bought ones, go the extra step and strain it. It will result in a very thick and creamy product. I use a simple cloth, but you can use anything really.

Chop Everything

While the yogurt is draining cut everything into smaller pieces.

Add Salt

Add some salt to the chopped-up greens. Some water will be released. The goal is to extract as much water as possible so that the thick yogurt will not again have added water. The salt draws water from the greens.

Strain the Greens

By now, the salt would have pulled out some water from the greens. I leave it for 10-30 minutes at most. You can leave it for longer if you have the time. I then strain it through a paper towel.

The Strained Yogurt

If everything went according to plan with the yogurt you strained, you will have this perfectly creamy and thick yogurt. I always love the patterns on it.

Mix!

Now, I just mix everything together. If your mixture is not too wet, you will retain that extremely smooth and creamy texture. I love that texture in a tzatziki.

Enjoy!

You will be left with the most awesome tzatziki ever. Obviously, this is a far cry from normal versions of this dip, but life is about experimentation, at least for those like me who like to be creative and make different things.

It has an awesome flavor. The sour tang of the yogurt and the spekboom goes so well with the green of the garlic chives and purslane. It is just well-balanced. Again, do not expect it to be like a cucumber tzatziki. It will not be the same. But I like this one because the ingredients (except the milk) grow in my backyard.

Plus this version goes so well with lamb as well! I had it with some lamb I cooked over some coals.

Anyways, I hope you make this version or any version you can think of! The world is full of ingredients, use them. I am sure that there where you live various plants are just waiting to be used in your cooking.

Since learning about the edibility of spekboom, I have incorporated it into my daily diet. I have so many smaller plants going. The young leaves are sour and very yummy! The older leaves tend to be a bit bland. But this is surely a miracle plant in my eyes. From salads, to chutneys, to this dip, I am looking forward to exploring even more recipes. I hope that you will join me on this journey.

All of the musings are my own, unless stated otherwise or hyperlinked. The recipe is wholly my own creation. The photographs are also my own taken with my iPhone. Happy cooking and stay safe!