Yogurt Cucumber "cooling sauce" for Indian Food

I've made these before...  I love cucumbers and yogurt.
Tzatziki
Raita Salad
But this one is just different, and wonderful.

Perfect served along spicy vegetable curry, but equally good the next as a condiment for grilled salmon. You could also serve as an appetizer with pita bread, olives and veggies.
I paired this recipe with my Tomato Cauliflower Curry.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients

1 cup yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 green onion, minced small
1/2 cup of cucumber, minced small
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
Salt and Pepper

Mince up the cucumber and green onion into very small pieces.  Chop cilantro. Mix the veggies into the yogurt, adding the lemon juice.  Mix and let sit for 15-20 minutes, adding salt & pepper as needed.

Here it is on top of the vegetable curry!

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Gremolata- Condiment for Beef, Pork, Fish, Veggies or Bread!

Gremolata is Italian and Chimichurri is from Argentina.
Both pretty much the same- delicious.
No matter where this originated, obviously people all over the world can stand behind this.
The intent is the same, a flavorful, herb packed burst of yumminess.
I am addicted.  I love it more than I should. 

Today my Google spell check told me "yumminess" wasn't a word, but suggested "chrumminess"?  WHAT is up with that?
This is YUMMY, not chrummy. Geez.

Here's a couple of other ways to use gremolata, or chimichurri:

• Beef Kebabs with Chimichurri
• Baked Feta with Chimichurri
• On top of baked fish, like salmon or sole.
• Mix into pasta salads
• Mixed in salad dressings
• Stir a tablespoon, or two, into soups like minestrone
• Serve it with fresh bread, it's great as a dipping sauce.

NOTE- I used my preserved lemons in the recipe in place of the fresh lemon juice and zest- incredible!.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh parsley

1 cup fresh cilantro

½ bunch green onions, cut into 2" lengths

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest OR 1 Tbsp minced preserved lemons recipe here

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a food processor, add the parsley, cilantro, green onions and garlic.  Pulse until you have a small mince, but not so fine that it starts to become a paste.  
OR, you can hand chop it too, which is what I usually do.  A little chunkier, but just as nice.

Here's a picture of it on my Baked Feta with Chimichurri

Hot & Tangy Pepper Relish

 My sister made some of this and shared it as an appetizer on a recent boat trip.  A block of cream cheese and a jar of spicy sweet relish was gone in wink.  Happy boaters all around. Everyone loved spread on a cracker.  What a simple appetizer to share, and ready in flash.

When we got home from vacation, I was still thinking about it, so I set out to buy a bunch of different peppers to give it a try.  Most of the recipes online used bell peppers, but I really didn't Spicy, sweet and tangy relish.  Perfect with a little cream cheese on a cracker, but would also be good with grilled meats, stirred into meatballs, on a slice of cheese, or even on a hot dog or hamburger if you are a sweet relish fan.

 (not pictured, 1 lime and the salt)

Makes 7-8 - 1 cup jars
Ingredients

4 cups chopped hot peppers (jalapenos, fresno, anaheim, habenero)
4 cups minced white onions (about 3 large onions)
4 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1 lime, juiced (optional)
1 tsp salt
(optional)

Chop the peppers, removing most of the seeds.  You can see below, I hold the stem in one hand and cut the pepper off of the seeds and membranes in the middle. It's easier than cutting them in half and scrapping out.  

Chop in a food processor until small. (photo below)

I had about 4 cups, but it was a little shy of the full amount.  That's Okay.
Chop the onions in the same manner.
 

In a pot over medium high heat, add the veggie mix plus all the sugar and vinegar. Stir and bring to a boil Cook over med high for 30-35 minutes.  Like the picture below, it will get a little thickened and glossy.

Fill hot sterilized jars, add the lid and the bands and process n a water bath for 10 minutes. Cool.  The contents will firm up a bit.  Here's a link to how to process canned jam/jelly/relish

I thought you might enjoy a picture of my set up.