Mediterranean Diet Sauces: Recipes and Culinary Exploration

The Mediterranean diet, celebrated for its health benefits and delicious flavors, relies heavily on a variety of sauces to enhance dishes. These sauces, often olive oil-based, incorporate fresh herbs, spices, and other aromatics, creating a diverse and flavorful culinary experience. This article explores some classic Mediterranean sauces, providing recipes and inspiration for incorporating them into your meals.

Tzatziki: A Refreshing Greek Yogurt Sauce

Tzatziki is a creamy cucumber yogurt dip or sauce made from simple ingredients. This authentic tzatziki recipe, made with cucumber, yogurt, and garlic, comes straight from the Greek island of Paros, and a few tips make all the difference. It is a staple in Greek cuisine, perfect as a dip, spread, or accompaniment to various dishes. It’s so fresh, so simple, and goes with everything. You’ll love how easy and versatile this Greek sauce is; you can serve it with some pita chips and fresh veggies or use it over your gyros, kebabs, with fish, or to dip your fries, or to jazz up some mean dinner bowls! So many possibilities!

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain full-fat or reduced-fat Greek yogurt (strained yogurt is essential)
• 1 English cucumber, grated (or regular cucumber, peeled and seeded)
• 4-5 garlic cloves, minced (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus additional to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of white or black pepper
• Chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)

Instructions

1. Grate the cucumbers: You can use a box grater or a food processor for a shortcut.
2. Drain the grated cucumbers: Transfer the grated cucumbers to a clean cheesecloth (or a heavy napkin) and squeeze out all the liquid. This step is VERY IMPORTANT to prevent a runny sauce.
3. Mix the sauce: In a large bowl, combine the grated or minced garlic with the white vinegar and a little olive oil and mix.
4. Add the drained cucumber mixture to a large bowl, greek yogurt, kosher salt, a pinch of white black pepper, and chopped dill or mint (if using). Stir to combine well.
5. Refrigerate: Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to two hours, to allow the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken.
6. Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with fresh veggies, pita chips, gyros, vegetable patties, fries, grilled or fresh veggies, or as a fresh side dish.

Tips for the Best Tzatziki

• Use Greek Yogurt: Ensure you use Greek yogurt, as it is strained and thicker than regular yogurt. Do not use regular plain yogurt as the dip will be too runny.
• Drain the Cucumber Well: This is crucial to prevent a watery sauce.
• Adjust Garlic to Taste: Start with less garlic if you prefer a milder flavor.
• Chill Before Serving: Refrigerating the sauce allows the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken.

Serving Suggestions

Creamy cucumber tzatziki is one of the most versatile dips you can make! At the very least, serve it with some carrots, bell peppers, and other fresh veggies of your choice, but you can use it in many more ways with everything from the obvious gyros to pan-seared salmon, lamb rack, all sorts of kebabs including vegetable skewers, or even to top your baked potato! I love adding it to dinner bowls with keftedes (meatballs) and a salad!

Tahini Sauce: A Versatile Sesame Seed Dressing

Tahini sauce is a creamy paste made from sesame seeds, widely used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. On its own, Tahini has a sharp, acidic, but beautifully nutty, and velvety taste to it. It’s a key ingredient in hummus and baba ganoush, but it can also be used as a dressing or dip.

Green Tahini Sauce Recipe

This tahini sauce was inspired by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Yotam Ottolenghi. He has an amazing combination of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern recipes that I’ve always found extremely creative. The food photos in his cookbooks are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. For fresh herbs in this sauce, I’m using parsley and cilantro. Most tahini sauces use lemon juice but I think lime goes so well with cilantro. The combination of lime, cilantro, and corn, while it may not be very Mediterranean, go so well together. My first time making this sauce, the cilantro and lime were a little too overpowering. The way I fixed this was cutting back on the cilantro a bit and adding honey to balance out the citrus.

Read also: A Review of the Mediterranean Diet in Kidney Disease

Ingredients

• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Lime juice
• Tahini
• Honey
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Cold water

Instructions

1. Add parsley, cilantro, lime juice, tahini, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper to a food processor or blender.
2. Pulse for about 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
3. Next, pulse while slowly drizzling in the extra virgin olive oil.
4. Scrape down the sides again and pulse again while drizzling in the cold water.

Serving Suggestions

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with using this as a spread on my breakfast sandwiches. Top them with iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced cucumber, and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & sea salt. You can also add it to your cookies, and bake delicious cakes with it. OR, simply, just make a dressing out of it!

Gremolata: A Zesty Italian Condiment

Gremolata is an Italian condiment used to add flavor to meat, fish, salads, and grilled vegetables. It also tastes aaamazing in soups and pasta. Traditionally it doesn’t contain any olive oil but as an olive oil lover…I mean… the oil just makes this perfect to drizzle over anything. Chopped parsley, garlic, lemon… this beautiful thing called Gremolata (or Gremolada) is the simplest and most delicious thing you need in your life!!

Ingredients

• Chopped parsley
• Minced garlic clove
• Lemon zest
• Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Chop your parsley and mince your garlic clove.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with pita bread, souvlaki, gyros, vegetable patties, fries, grilled or fresh veggies, or as a fresh side dish.

Classic Mediterranean Salad Dressing

I know… I have said that I love every dressing, but I promise, if I’d HAD TO pick my go-to salad dressing, it would be this! It has everything I LOVE - herbs, lemon, garlic, and olive oil.

Ingredients

• Herbs
• Lemon
• Garlic
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Mince your garlic and measure everything in a small glass jar.
2. Give it a shake or use a spoon to mix everything together.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with a Greek salad! Staying in the Greek - theme. If someone gave me 5 seconds to name a salad from the Mediterranean, I would instantly think of a Greek salad! Ps. Read the recipe for vegan Greek salad here!

Read also: Delicious Mediterranean Recipes

Baba Ganoush: A Smoky Eggplant Dip

Baba ganoush is a delicious eggplant dip from Lebanon and a stable in many Middle-Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean cuisines. It has all the familiar & delicious flavors from these regions; lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and garlic. So yes - it tastes amazing. If you love hummus, I’m sure you’ll love this dip too!

Ingredients

• Eggplant
• Tahini
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200 Celsius or 400 Fahrenheit.
2. Half your eggplants (horizontally).
3. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until they start to collapse and look a bit charred.
4. Allow the eggplant to cool, and remove the skins.
5. Once you have drained and mushed your eggplant (with a fork), add tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
6. Serve the dip from a flat bowl and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the dip from a flat bowl and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top. You can use a food processor for mixing everything together, but I like to have a little bit of texture in my dip, so I mash my eggplant with a fork. If you have a grill or a gas stove, use one of those to cook your eggplant!

Romesco: A Zesty Spanish Dip

Romesco is a zesty Spanish dip packed with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, and a pinch of garlic and chili. Creamy, nutty, and a tad smoky, this sauce turns ordinary dishes into taste sensations. Dip, spread, or drizzle - Romesco rocks!

Ingredients

• Roasted red peppers
• Tomatoes
• Almonds
• Garlic
• Chili
• 1 piece of (gluten-free) bread.

Instructions

1. Roast tomatoes and bell pepper in the oven until the skin gets black. Toss in a ziplock bag and let cool (this helps to remove the skin later). The total roast time takes about 30 min.
2. Roast the almonds and bread in the oven until they get a slight golden color (about 5 minutes).
3. Remove the skin of the tomatoes and bell pepper and add everything into a blender.
4. Pulse until everything is combined (doesn’t need to be too smooth, blend to your preferred consistency).

Serving Suggestions

Dip, spread, or drizzle - Romesco rocks!

Creamy Mediterranean Sauce

This Mediterranean Sauce is so creamy and perfect on everything! If you want a light and creamy sauce that goes with everything, you've found it! This Mediterranean Sauce, also known as tzatziki sauce, is one of my favs. All you need are some fresh cucumbers, tangy Greek yogurt, a few lemons, and some olive oil, of course. And don't forget the dill! I also garnish mine sometimes with mint or extra oil, too.

Read also: Mediterranean Diet, Instant Pot Style

Ingredients

• Fresh cucumbers
• Tangy Greek yogurt
• Lemons
• Olive oil
• Dill
• Mint (optional)

Instructions

1. Grate the cucumber. No need to peel or deseed.
2. Squeeze out any excess liquid.
3. Mix grated cucumber with Greek yogurt, minced garlic, salt, fresh lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of dill.
4. Mix until fully combined.
5. Chill for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Garnish with dill or mint. Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

Use this tzatziki sauce on everything and anything!

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