I should perhaps entitle this “Total Pleasure” since that was what started me on this pleasure trip. I had received a lorry-load of Total Greek Yoghurt from Fage. Now I’m not given to product endorsements but Total Greek Yoghurt is already a firm favourite from our weekly shop. Y’see, I like my yoghurt plain, unsweetened and thick. Of course, you can find greek-style yoghurts all over the place but this is the real deal and once you taste and experience it all those ‘Greek-style’ versions seem lacking in the basics… taste and mouth feel being the ones that spring to mind. Plus you can cook with it. The full fat version can often be used in place of cream when making a pasta sauce and I’ve experimented with the 2% version and that seemed to resist splitting or curdling. So when I realised I was about to get extra tubs to play with I got to thinking what else could I do besides eat it with my homemade Granola and honey drizzled over it. My favourite weekday breakfast by the way.
A perfect cake to go with a glass of sherry!
First up was to make a cake with it! I had been meaning to make a yoghurt cake for ages. An old post from Sig of Scandilicious which I had bookmarked for a ‘to do’ sprung to mind. Of course, I had some small tweaks on it (I had some different dried fruit from Sig) but I followed her basic recipe for the Almond Raisin Cake with Manzanilla Sherry and I urge you to use the link above and visit to (it’s on an older blogsite of Sig’s). While you’re at it have a scoot around Sig’s new site, she’s a fab cook with especially delicious baking recipes. You’ll hear more about Sig when her book gets published next year and she’s as lovely a person as she is a cook. I was really pleased with the moist and flavoursome cake. It was certainly good enough to stop OH mid second bite to ask ‘exactly’ where I got the recipe before he finished off his slice, quick-pronto. The best thing about it was that it wasn’t a sweet, fussy cake and it was very, very easy to make. My version of the cake recipe is here, ready to print off.
Drizzle some of the saffron sauce over the vegs and serve the rest in a bowl
Next up was a saffron sauce which I sourced from the Ottolenghi cookbook “The Cookbook”. I must have been one of the last foodies not to have acquired this cookbook which I can’t stop reading. Every recipe is a ‘must-try-soon’. If you love middle eastern style foods you’ll love this book. Food to share with loved ones. I decided to try the 0% fat version of the yoghurt in this sauce. I’m not a 0% fat version lady, as those who know me can plainly see. But this sauce didn’t lack in gastronomic pleasure which in my book means I saved some of my daily fat intake which could be off-set against some treat!
Saffron Sauce
Adapted from Ottolenghi’s “The Cookbook”
A few strands of saffron
2-3 tbls hot water
180g 0% fat Total greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls olive oil
Infuse the saffron strands in the hot water for 5 minutes. Then add saffron and water to all the other ingredients and whisk to a smooth consistency. Chill till required.
I drizzled some of this sauce over roasted vegetables and reserved the rest to self-serve at the table.
A fresh and naturally sweet bowl of Succotash
Then I opted for a version of Succotash. I had spied some fresh corn ears and had bought them at a bargain price. The phrase ‘Suffering Succotash’ popped into my head – Sylvester the Cat and Daffy Duck used to say it. No, I don’t know why it popped into my head but I just went with it and searched online for a guide to making it. Surprisingly quick to make it looked cheerful and summery and the yoghurt worked well with it. I’ll be making this again, it went well with a herby roast chicken. I used fresh shelled (and deskinned, worth the trouble) broad beans in place of the more usual lima beans and replaced the cream with the 2% fat version of the yoghurt. Add the youghurt at the end rather than halfway through and stir through.
A sublime mix of fruit, luscious yoghurt and caramel top
Finally I made a caramel yoghurt fruit pot. But that belongs to my foraging story so you’ll just have to wait for the post! It was delicious though so it’ll be worth the wait.
Those were some of the dishes I made from my yoghurt supplies. I wanted to make more than the usual Tzatziki (delicious though it is) which immediately sprung to mind. All of the above were the most successful. What would you have made?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s really great having so much yogurt to play with. It wasn’t until I got my fridge load of this that I started using it in cakes and now I can’t stop it makes them so much lighter and moister. You’ve made some really delicious looking treats with this and you’re not the last person to have “the cookbook” – I have “Plenty”, but not that one – yet!
I’ve put “Plenty” on my wish list. Love your blog btw – lots there I’ll be back to try. And great tips for a Ghent visit
Fantastic! I did the Total yoghurt challenge last year and I have to say we now use a lot more yoghurt… in cakes it is gorgeous!
I love yoghurt – not too keen on flavoured yoghurts unless it’s with real fruit swirled through a plain unsweetened yoghurt. Yes, it makes the cake so moist and I have used a mix of milk and natural yoghurt in place of buttermilk when making Irish soda bread.
Our family only just started eating natural yoghurt – my five year old daughter loves it, just plain in a bowl – which was a surprise after all the years of buying her those coloured and sweetend ones!
I love it in baking and once you get used to using it you realise how versatile it is!
I love Total yogurt too, it’s so thick and creamy. All the food looks amazing and that is one gorgeous set of photos.
Saying that about Total though, I’ve recently started making my own Greek (style) yogurt – recipe on my blog.
Homemade Greek yoghurt .. very interesting! Off to read all about it now, thanks : )
I’ve seen a few illustrations of blogs recently but none as refreshingly instant as yours. I love them. I wouldn’t have read another restaurant reveiw of a restaurant that I’m never likely to go to without them, and I’m now glad I did. You might be interested in a site called They Draw and Cook. I’ll be back to read more.Cheers
Thanks for your kind comments. Yes I came across They Cook and Draw and mean to submit some work. I want to draw more so the blog is pushing me to do that although I don’t always succeed (and I do also want to improve my photography!)
What lovely recipes – I have my eye on that cake!