Tarator is a chilled cucumber yogurt soup thats so cool and refreshing on a hot summer day. And this soup is loaded with flavor from Greek yogurt, lemon juice, cucumbersk walnuts, fresh mint, fresh parsley, fresh dill, olive oil, half and half, salt, and pepper
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups Greek Yogurt (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
- 2 cups chopped small or mini cucumbers
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (see notes)
- 1 T minced fresh garlic (or more)
- 1/4 cup + 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup half and half (see notes)
- 1/4 cup water (as needed)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Chop enough small garden cucumber or small mini cucumbers to make 2 cups of chopped cucumbers, about 1/2 inch square. If your cucumbers are small or fresh from the garden you don’t need to peel them, but if you have to buy larger cucumbers from the store I would cut off all or most of the peel.
- Chop up a generous 1/2 cup of fresh mint, parsley, and dill. We used a combination of all three of those herbs, but use what you have.
- Finely mince about 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, more or less to taste.
- Measure out two cups of 5% milk-fat Greek Yogurt
- Toast walnuts in a dry frying pan for about 2 minutes, then chop.
- Set aside a small amount of the cucumbers, chopped herbs, and chopped walnuts, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (for garnish).
- In a large glass or plastic mixing bowl combine the cucumber, chopped herbs, minced garlic, chopped walnuts, with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix in the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, one-fourth cup of the olive oil, and the half and half (or dairy product of your choice.)
- Stir to combine, and then thin with water until it’s as thick as you prefer. (We used the full one-fourth cup of water.)
- Taste soup to see if you want more salt or freshly ground black pepper.
- If your ingredients were cold from the fridge you may not need to chill the soup eating it, but chill for 1-2 hours if it’s not that cold.
- Serve soup cold, topped with the reserved chopped cucumber, chopped walnuts, chopped fresh herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil
- This kept well overnight in the fridge but I doubt it would last longer than two days.
NOTES
I used Greek Yogurt with 5% milkfat for this recipe. I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice.
We used chopped mint, parsley, and dill for the soup, but if you don’t have all those use a generous 1/2 cup (chopped) of the herbs you have.
Use half and half, heavy cream, milk, or buttermilk to thin the soup, whichever you prefer or have on hand.
Recipe adapted by Kalyn and Kara from a recipe for Tarator soup I spotted in Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking (affiliate link).
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Yield
6
Serving Size
1Amount Per ServingCalories174Total Fat13gSaturated Fat3gTrans Fat0gUnsaturated Fat9gCholesterol11mgSodium138mgCarbohydrates7gFiber1gSugar4gProtein10g