Greek Style Smorgasbord
We have been having a heatwave here in Portland. It has been in the 100s every day this week–107 degrees yesterday! I’m not a fan of this heat, and I don’t want to cook when it’s so hot outside. My friend Kyle told me about a “smorgasbord” her family has for dinner, where she serves different foods around the table, and everyone digs in. I made some tzatziki sauce and marinated onions, but other than that, it was all the food we had in the fridge and cupboards. We sat around a little table in our living room and served ourselves. The kids loved having the freedom to eat what THEY wanted. It was a nice time sitting on the floor, eating dinner, and talking about our day.
Greek Style Smorgasbord
Tzatziki Sauce :
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 8 oz of Greek plain yogurt
- ½ lemon, juice, and zest
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Marinated Red Onions:
- ½ large red onion, sliced very thin
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white sugar
- Dash of red pepper flakes (more if you want them spicy)
- Sea salt, to taste
Other Ingredients:
- Sesame pita bread, warmed & cut into triangles
- Rice crackers
- Hummus
- Mediterranean Hummus
- Cucumber, seeded and sliced
- Grape tomatoes
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese
- Pepper rings
- Cherries
How to Make a Greek Style Smorgasbord
Make the tzatziki sauce by peeling the cucumber and cutting it in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove all the seeds from both halves.
Dice into small pieces, then place in a strainer. Sprinkle ½ tsp sea salt over the cucumber and set the strainer in a bowl for 30 minutes. The salt will draw out the moisture in the cucumber.
Pat the cucumber dry with a paper towel.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour to let flavors mingle.
Side Note: If you want a thick sauce, strain yogurt for several hours to remove the liquid and thicken the yogurt. Place two coffee filters in a strainer, which is placed in a bowl. Add the yogurt and let it sit for two hours, letting the liquid drain.
Marinate the onions by combining the vinegar, oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, and sea salt in a bowl, then mix thoroughly. Add the sliced onion, cover with plastic wrap, and let it marinate in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes.
To serve, arrange all the food, sauces, crackers, bread, veggies, and fruit on your serving tray.
Place on a small table, sit on the floor, and enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
Tzatziki Sauce :
- 1 cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 8 oz of Greek plain yogurt
- ½ lemon juice, and zest
- 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Marinated Red Onions:
- ½ large red onion sliced very thin
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white sugar
- Dash of red pepper flakes more if you want them spicy
- Sea salt to taste
Other Ingredients:
- Sesame pita bread warmed & cut into triangles
- Rice crackers
- Hummus
- Mediterranean Hummus
- Cucumber seeded and sliced
- Grape tomatoes
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese
- Pepper rings
- Cherries
Instructions
- Make the tzatziki sauce by peeling the cucumber and cutting it in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove all the seeds from both halves.
- Pat the cucumber dry with a paper towel.
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour to let flavors mingle. Side Note: If you want a thick sauce, strain yogurt for several hours to remove the liquid and thicken the yogurt. Place two coffee filters in a strainer, which is placed in a bowl. Add the yogurt and let it sit for two hours, letting the liquid drain.
- Marinate the onions by combining the vinegar, oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, and sea salt in a bowl, then mix thoroughly. Add the sliced onion, cover with plastic wrap, and let it marinate in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes.
- To serve, arrange all the food, sauces, crackers, bread, veggies, and fruit on your serving tray.
- Place on a small table, sit on the floor, and enjoy!
