What Turkish cooks call Cacik is perhaps better known to us by its Greek name, Tzatziki, while its Arabian name, Khiyar bi Iben, is most likely known to few of us.
It doesn't matter what you call it, however, for this sauce of yogurt, cucumber and mint, with a touch of garlic, is made in an almost identical fashion wherever you find it.
I saw it offered alongside cumin spiced lamb in Kerry's Stepping Stone restaurant, and when a friend brought a big bag of cucumbers from her tunnel, and there was some lamb to be cooked, the idea of the combination was obvious.
It is a fine one indeed, the coolness of the cacik perfectly assertive alongside the sweet lamb. Don't crush the garlic in a garlic press - the more gentle flavour of garlic pulped to a cream with salt, using the blade of a knife, suits the other subtle flavours of the cacik much better.
Cookery books all say virtually the same thing on how to prepare cacik, but this Jane Grigson recipe is one I find works to perfection.
Cacik
1 large cucumber
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt, finely ground
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed with salt
half litre (three quarters pint) yoghurt, preferably from goat's milk
plenty of black pepper
1 tablespoon dried mint, or 4 tablespoons fresh, chopped
Dice the cucumber, peeled or unpeeled according to your preference. Put the pieces into a colander, sprinkle them with the sea salt. Leave to drain for at least an hour.
Press the cucumber with your hands to extract the largest possible amount of liquid, then dry it in a clean cloth.
Meanwhile crush the garlic to a cream with a little salt, using a heavy knife blade or cleaver rather than a garlic press.
Add it to the yoghurt, with plenty of pepper and nearly all the mint.
Half an hour before serving the salad, mix in the cucumber and chill it well.
Sprinkle with the remaining mint before serving it with wholemeal bread and butter, or with grilled chops.