Raita with Basil and Walnuts

Raita is yogurt salad, pronounced (RYE-ta), classically served as a “cooling” condiment with Indian curry dishes. You don’t necessarily need to drain the yogurt, but it helps, especially with the low fat and fat-free choices, to keep the raita nice and thick. Greek yogurts, which we can now find easily in the market, are a good choice and they are more thick in the first place. Add some ground cumin to the walnuts as they finish toasting.

Try this raita with grilled vegetables or as a dip for toasted pita chips.

2 cups plain low-fat or fat-free yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted

1 large cucumber

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch sea salt

Drain the yogurt in a colander, lined with cheesecloth, for about an hour. It will some of its watery liquid and gain a nice thick texture.

Chop the toasted walnuts into 1/4-inch pieces. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise and, with a spoon, scrape away the seeds. Cut into 1/4-inch dice or grate like you would for carrots.

Stir together the yogurt, garlic, chopped basil, walnuts and cucumber. Season with the cayenne and salt.

Makes about 2 cups.

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Savory Muffins with Dill

another muffin recipe on muffintalk–imagine that! Pastry Chef Mary Cech, who lives in Park City, has a Sour Cream and Dill Muffin recipe in her recently published cookbook, Savory Baking. Mary  suggest the muffins for breakfast, split and broiled until golden, then spread with soft cream cheese and topped with slices of tomato and smoked salmon. She makes hers with rich sour cream. I’ve substituted yogurt and cottage cheese for the sour cream, I think making these muffins equally as delicious as Mary’s yet higher in protein and lower in fat. Try them for dinner with a salad or soup.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 ½  teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons Real Salt

½ cup finely chopped fresh dill

2 eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup Nancy’s lowfat cottage cheese

¾ cup plain lowfat yogurt

Dill seeds for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 12 muffin cups with melted butter or spray generously with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the chopped dill, eggs, melted butter, cottage cheese and yogurt. Pour the dill mixture over the flour mixture and gently blend together. The dough will be relatively stiff for a muffin.

Divide the batter evenly between each muffin cup and sprinkle the tops with a few dill seeds, if desired.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and they spring back when touched with a finger. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

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Yogurt Cheese with Garlic and Parsley

Yogurt cheese is easy to make—it just takes preparing ahead—18 to 24 hours. So if you want yogurt cheese for tomorrow—make it today, if you want yogurt cheese for today—too late, too bad. This recipe uses parsley, because that is in our box this week. If you have that freezer stash of basil pesto, it is perfect for flavoring yogurt cheese; mix in 1/4 cup of pesto in place of the garlic and parsley. You can use other herbs too—cilantro, basil, dill—depending on what you have or prefer.

In the era when many were cooking their way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volumes One and Two, I was throwing dinner parties and cooking out of Anna Thomas’ Vegetarian Epicure, Books I and II.  Know that it’s true when I say that Anna’s recipes were just as time-consuming and calorific as Julia’s. In 1996, Anna published a new cookbook, with dinner-party ideas and recipes of a lighter fare—this Yogurt Cheese comes from her The New Vegetarian Epicure.

1 quart high-quality plain non-fat yogurt (no starch or gums added)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/8 teaspoon Real Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Line a large sieve of colander with a triple thickness of damp cheesecloth, Dump the yogurt onto the cheesecloth and place the sieve or colander over a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 18-20 hours. Check under the sieve, especially in the first hours, and drink or throw away (sic) the whey that has drained into the bowl.

Turn the thickened yogurt cheese into a bowl and mix in the garlic and parsley, or pesto, as well as salt and pepper, to your taste. If you have the time, refrigerate for a few hours before serving, letting the flavors meld.

Serve with crackers or crostini, as an appetizer, or with baked Ranui Charlotte potatoes for dinner.

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Creamy Cucumber Salad

Garlic, ripe for picking

Even with organic cucumbers, I like mine peeled. And I prefer the seeds removed; it’s a longstanding kitchen habit and I think you will appreciate the more pleasant eating too. Another detail—soak the red onions in ice water to mellow the bite of the onion.

This recipe can be varied in many ways. Add more yogurt and bump up the seasonings to make a saucy condiment—to curries or grilled meats. The full-fat Greek yogurt will be creamier, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt will make a thinner dressing. But if you are watching your calories…

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, soaked for 10 minutes in ice water, drained

2 or 3 cucumbers

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt or low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped dill leaves, optional

2 tablespoons fresh sweet basil, 1/8-inch chiffonade

While the onion is soaking, peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and using a spoon, gently scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice about 1/4-inch thick–or thinner or thicker, it’s your preference. Mix with the yogurt, garlic,

salt, cayenne pepper and fresh herbs. Taste and correct seasoning. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

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