AVOCADO TZATZIKI

Classic tzatziki meets buttery, rich, fresh avocado.  Hubba, hubba! 
Cool, creamy, tangy, avocado oomph-ed, cucumber-laden, garlic-tinged, dilly, Greekness.  What sorcery is this?

It just happened.  It was easy.  We love tzatziki.  We love avocados. 

And, we happen to be whiling away a few glorious days in Kona, on The Big Island of Hawaii, where piles and baskets and boxes of fresh picked avocados, beckon, at every Farmers Market, and grocery store.

So what's a girl to do? 

Smash buttery, smooth, avocado and plop it into a bright, robust, batch of tzatziki?  Yup! 

As it turns out, Avocado Tzatziki is just so good. 

Maybe try it.......plopped onto spicy, barbecued chicken.  Or for dip with smoky, grilled ribs.  Or slathered on tender, roasted lamb (and then rolled up in pita).  Or dolloped onto steaming baked potatoes. Or alongside crunchy, delicious tempura veggies and prawns.  Or mounded beside mouth-scalding, green Thai curry.  Or spooned onto flaky, classic spanakopita.

Or, just savour the sassy flavours and fiesty goodness of this refreshing concoction, swooped and scooped up with homemade Naan bread.  That's what we did last night, and my tongue is still smiling.

Okay, okay, admittedly we also had some kick-ass-delicious, grilled pork chops, last night.  So I can now vouch that grilled pork chops sidle up to Avocado Tzatziki, in all the right ways.  Mmmm.....

Enough!  Of my silly tzatziki ramblings, let's just get to the recipe, alright, already.

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I used my usual tzatziki recipe, mostly, but took happy inspiration
from TwoPeasAndTheir Pod food blog, as well.  Thanks!
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AVOCADO TZATZIKI

680 gram tub Greek, or Balkan style plain yogurt
1 - 2 medium-ish avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and smashed to smooth smithereens
1 small English cucumber
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
3 plump garlic cloves, minced
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeds removed, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon fresh dillweed, chopped - or heaping teaspoon dried dillweed
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Line a strainer or colander with cheesecloth or a clean, small kitchen towel or basket style coffee filter.  Set lined strainer up over a bowl so it is not touching the bottom.  Plop yogurt into lined strainer to drain.  Refrigerate. Let yogurt drain 2-3 hours.  Discard liquid.  Now your yogurt is thick and dreamily creamily delicious.

Put yogurt into medium mixing bowl, add smoothly smashed avocado, whisk, whisk. 

Cut cucumber in half lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds by dragging a regular teaspoon along the seeded middle. Voila!  

Cut half of the seeded (or is it de-seeded?) cucumber into tiny, thin pieces.  Add to yogurt avocado mixture, in bowl.  Grate the other half of the cucumber on a box grater and squeeze the grated cucumber with your hand to remove some of the liquid.  Add squeezed cuke to bowl, along with lime juice, garlic, minced jalapeno (if using), olive oil, dillweed, and salt.  Stir well to combine.

If you can, let the tzatziki mellow in the fridge for 1 or more hours, so the flavours get to know one another.  Serve with warm naan or pita bread.  Happy swooping!   

Thanks plenty for looking!  And maybe cooking!  And hopefully mmmm-ing!