Tarator

Tarator is a chilled cucumber soup made with cucumber, dill, and yogurt that is popular in Albania. Bulgaria has a Tarator that is similar to Albania's. In Turkey, however, Tarator refers to a separate dish made with walnuts, garlic, and bread. In Hungary, they have a version that is very similar to the Albanian version, with a few minor differences in the ingredients. The most straightforward way to serve this chilled soup is with feta cheese and fresh bread. Then add more fruits and finger foods like olives, almonds, pita bread, hummus, and so on.

Ingredients:

1 cup yogurt,2 cucumbers,2 cloves garlic,½ spring dill,50 g ground walnuts,30 ml sunflower oil,1 tsp. salt,1 pinch of black pepper if desired

Instructions:

• Peel the cucumbers, cut them into very small cubes or grate them on a large grater and place them in a suitable bowl or deep dish.
• Add the crushed garlic, finely chopped dill, salt and oil. If you like the taste, add black pepper.
• Beat the yogurt until smooth, pour it over the cucumbers, add water to achieve the desired density, and stir.
  Serve the tarator chilled and sprinkled with walnuts.