Seasonal Recipe: Courgette Tzatziki

How's your veg growing this year? Here at VP Gardens, it's one of the strangest of seasons, particularly where the cucurbit family are concerned. I have no squash forming at all, and my cucumbers refuse to grow beyond an inch in size. Courgettes, on the other hand, are pumping themselves out like there's no tomorrow. How come one from the same family is prolific and the others aren't, despite all of them grown on my sunny patio? It's a mystery to me.

It means I've added another quick and easy seasonal recipe to my courgette glutbuster repertoire: courgette tzatziki. It's perfect for a summer lunch when the usual cucumber glut hasn't materialised. Serve with plenty of warm or toasted wholemeal pitta bread, and this recipe serves two generously.

Ingredients

• 1 medium courgette, grated
• Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon + 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped + enough extra reserved for garnish - use what you have to hand which is more 'traditional' in flavour; I use Moroccan mint from the garden
• 1 tsp garlic powder (or 1 crushed garlic clove)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or chopped fresh if you have it)
• 200g whole milk thick Greek yoghurt

Method

• Place the courgette in a serving bowl and sprinkle over the lemon zest + juice, chopped fresh mint, garlic powder and oregano
• Add the Greek yoghurt to the bowl and stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients
• Garnish with the reserved mint
• Serve immediately

Notes

• I've found there's no need to tease out water from the courgette with salt when it's used straight from the fridge and the tzatziki is served immediately. This way is less messy and reduces the amount of washing up - you may prefer to do so if you are intending to serve the tzatziki later to prevent separation of the ingredients.
• The same applies to the Greek yoghurt, look out especially for any which says sieved or thick on the label, such as the 5% fat Greek yoghurt I buy from Lidl
• I often use bottled lemon juice if I'm not intending to use the rest of the fresh juice in another recipe
• I don't swirl any olive oil on top of the tzatziki (as is done traditionally) in order to keep the fat content down to a heart friendly level. I find using a low or zero fat Greek yoghurt instead affects the flavour and texture of the dish, it's nowhere near as nice!
• A sprinkling of Za'atar on top makes a nice alternative garnish