We are all familiar with yoghurt on our morning cereal, but I suspect few British cooks are aware of how wonderful it is to cook with. In Turkey, India, the Middle East and many other places, yoghurt is warmed up to create a thick sauce for dumplings, pasta, vegetables, fish and meat; not least because its creaminess is balanced by a natural acidity, so it doesn’t overwhelm a dish in the way cream can. Just keep in mind that yoghurt can split when heated, so you often need some starch or an egg to stabilise it, and warm it up gently and slowly. Once you’ve done so, however, you’re in for a very special treat.
Roast chicken and rosemary potatoes with yoghurt gravy (above)
I use yoghurt twice here: first to tenderise the meat, then to bring together the roasting juices into a wonderfully tangy gravy. Make sure you use full-fat Greek yoghurt, because it’s less likely to curdle.
Prep 20 min
Marinate 2 hr- overnight
Cook 1 hr 55 min
Serves 4
450g Greek-style yoghurt
60ml olive oil
1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally, plus 4 cloves extra, peeled and crushed
1½ lemons, zest finely grated, to get 1½ tsp
5g parsley, roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
1½ tbsp rosemary leaves, chopped, plus 4 whole sprigs
Salt and black pepper
1 large chicken (about 1.6kg), patted dry
15g unsalted butter, softened
500ml chicken stock
1 large onion (200g), peeled and cut into 6 wedges
650g charlotte potatoes, cut in half lengthways
2 tsp plain flour
Mix 150g yoghurt in a bowl with three tablespoons of oil, the crushed garlic, lemon zest, chopped parsley and rosemary, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.
Season the chicken inside and out with three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. With the chicken’s legs pointing towards you, use your hands to loosen the skin off the breasts, then spread the butter evenly over the exposed flesh.
Rub the yoghurt mixture all around the cavity and the outside of the chicken. Halve the whole lemon and stuff it inside the cavity. Cover the bird loosely with clingfilm, then leave to marinate in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9. Take the chicken out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you plan to roast it.
Put half the stock, onion, potatoes, the two garlic head halves, rosemary sprigs, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a large, roughly 36cm x 25cm baking tray. Top with a metal rack, put the chicken on it and roast for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and cook for an hour more; if the chicken gets too dark, cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and leave to rest. Fish out the vegetables from the tray, arrange them around the chicken, and keep warm.
Position the oven tray directly over two hobs on a high heat. Add the remaining 250ml stock and bring to a simmer, scraping the pan to release as much of the burned-on bits as possible – about four minutes in total. Strain into a medium saucepan, then put the pan on a medium heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 300g yoghurt with the flour and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Once the stock has come to a simmer, temper the yoghurt by slowly pouring half the hot stock into the yoghurt bowl and whisking to combine.
Pour the contents of the yoghurt bowl into the stock pan and cook, whisking continuously, for 10 minutes, or until the flour has cooked out and the gravy has thickened slightly. Be careful not to let the gravy boil, otherwise the yoghurt might split –turn down the heat if you feel it’s getting too hot. Squeeze the remaining lemon half to give you a teaspoon and a half of juice, and stir into the gravy.
To serve, drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the chicken, top the vegetables with the picked parsley and serve the yoghurt gravy in a bowl alongside.
Butternut and yoghurt pasta with crisp garlic and quick chilli sauce
This pasta is both comforting and celebratory. Cook it low and slow to ensure the smoothest texture.
Prep 20 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4 as a starter or side
1kg butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into roughly 2½cm cubes (850g net weight)
1 onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
120ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 plum tomato, roughly chopped
3 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
1½ tbsp cider vinegar
200g short mafalda pasta (AKA mafaldine; use farfalle if you can’t find any)
500g Greek yoghurt, at room temperature
1¼ tsp ground cumin
2 egg yolks
1½ tsp cornflour
5g parsley leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
Heat the oven to 250C (230C fan)/480F. Put the squash, onion, three tablespoons of oil, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a medium bowl, then toss to combine. Transfer to an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until softened and charred, then keep warm.
While the squash is roasting, put the garlic and two tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan on a medium heat, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the garlic becomes deeply golden and crisp – about 12 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to lift the garlic on to a plate lined with kitchen paper; reserve the oil.
Blitz the tomato, chillies and a quarter-teaspoon of salt until finely minced, scraping down the bowl as you go. Add the vinegar and two tablespoons of oil, pulse for a few seconds, then tip into a small bowl.
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water until al dente – about seven minutes, then drain, reserving 200ml of the cooking water.
In a blender, blitz the yoghurt, remaining tablespoon of oil, cumin, egg yolks, cornflour and a third of a teaspoon of salt until smooth – about a minute. Pour into a large saute pan on a medium heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and just beginning to bubble – about 15 minutes. Add the pasta, reserved pasta water, chopped parsley and half the squash mix, and cook for four minutes, until just heated through.
Transfer to a large platter and top with the remaining squash mix. Drizzle with a third of the chilli sauce – serve the rest alongside – then top with the fried garlic, parsley leaves and reserved garlic oil.
Rhubarb and yoghurt upside-down cake
The best part of an upside-down cake is the anticipation of serving it right side up, so try to get vibrant rhubarb for a spectacular look.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 35 min
Serves 8
For the yoghurt sponge
160g unsalted butter, softened and cut into 2cm pieces, plus extra for greasing
Plain flour, for dusting
200g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1½ tsp lemon zest
150g Greek-style yoghurt
¼ tsp salt
20g stem ginger (roughly 1 ball), finely chopped
For the rhubarb topping
500g forced rhubarb
150g soft brown sugar
60g unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes
100g raspberries, blitzed to a puree in a food processor
¼ tsp salt
To serve
120ml double cream
120g Greek yoghurt
Heat the oven to 175C (165C fan)/365F/350F/gas 4½. Line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Lightly butter the sides, sprinkle with flour and shake out the excess.
Trim the rhubarb into lengths that will fit into the lined tin, then cut each piece lengthways in half (or into four), depending on the rhubarb’s thickness, so you end up with roughly 1cm-wide lengths.
Put a large saute pan on a medium-high heat and add the sugar, butter, pureed raspberries and salt. Cook, stirring often, until the butter melts and the mixture starts to thicken – about six minutes – then add the rhubarb and cook, turning gently now and then, for about four minutes, until it has softened slightly but still retains its shape. Gently lift out the rhubarb and transfer to a plate. Continue cooking the liquid on a medium-high heat for another five or six minutes, until you end up with a thick, jam-like caramel. Pour this into the lined tin, then carefully arrange the rhubarb on top, the stalks all facing the same direction.
Make the sponge by putting the sugar in the bowl of a free-standing mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Add the cubed butter and vanilla paste, and beat on a high speed for two minutes, until pale and airy. Add the eggs one by one, until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, then reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, lemon zest, yoghurt and salt. Mix until smooth – about a minute – then gently fold in the stem ginger. Spoon the dough in dollops all over the rhubarb and gently smooth out with the back of a spoon to cover.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake, then remove from the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Gently flip the cake on to a plate, release from its tin and leave to cool completely – about an hour. Mix the cream and yoghurt in a bowl and serve alongside the cake.
