I have started my day with yoghurt, the sharper the better, for as long as I can remember. It may be a tiny dish of pure white curds eaten with a teaspoon or, as it is now at the tail end of winter – in a deep bowl with sliced blood oranges, clusters of jewel-like pomegranate, passionfruit, chia seeds and toasted oats. More often than not, I end it that way, too, with a spoon or two before I climb the stairs to bed. In this house, a day without yoghurt is pretty much unthinkable.
In the kitchen, I prefer the thinner, unstrained version rather than those that are thick and creamy, which can sometimes lack the necessary refreshing snap of acidity. Here, yoghurt may find itself used as a salad dressing; tipped into a sieve, salted and drained to produce homemade labne; or stirred into a lentil soup or chicken casserole. A last-minute fizz of acidity to liven up a recipe or simply to introduce a little harmony and balance to a dish.
Yoghurt, wheat, spinach and lentil soup
You can make this soup the day before you plan to eat it if you wish, but stop before adding the yoghurt. Only stir in the yoghurt when the soup is off the boil, otherwise the whole thing will curdle. I sometimes like to drop a spoonful of thick yoghurt into each bowl at the table. Serves 4-6
green lentils 100g
wheat grains 90g
onions 600g
garlic 2 cloves
olive oil 2 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
ground coriander 1 tsp
ground cinnamon a pinch
vegetable stock 1.2 litres
spinach leaves 150g
lemon juice of 1
thick yoghurt 200g
ground turmeric 2 pinches
ground paprika 2 large pinches
mint 16 medium-sized leaves
Rinse the lentils, put them into a deep saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat a little and let them simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Soak the wheat in a bowl of warm water.
Meanwhile, peel then roughly chop the onions. Warm the oil in a deep, heavy pan over a moderate heat, then add the onions and let them cook until soft – a good 20 minutes. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, add to the onions and, when all is soft, add the cumin seeds, ground coriander and cinnamon. Let the spices cook for a minute or two, then drain the wheat and add it to the pan, together with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the wheat is tender but still chewy. Stir in the lentils.
Wash the spinach and place it, still wet, in a deep pan over a high heat, covered tightly with a lid. Let the leaves steam for a couple of minutes, then turn with kitchen tongs and continue steaming for a minute or two until they are soft. Drain and squeeze lightly in your hand to remove most of the water, then roughly chop.
Add the spinach to the soup, then lower the heat. Mix together the yoghurt with half the lemon juice. Stir into the soup and let the yoghurt warm, taking care to make sure the soup does not boil (if it does, your soup will curdle). Add a scattering of turmeric, paprika and chopped mint, check the seasoning, adding the rest of the lemon juice if you wish. Then ladle into warm bowls.
Beetroot, orange and yoghurt salad
A crisp, refreshing salad. Taste your dressing as you go; it should be sharp and slightly salty. Serves 3 as a side dish
For the salad:
candy-striped or red beetroot 350g, raw
carrots 2, medium
cider vinegar 40ml
oranges 2, medium
For the roast beetroots:
small red beetroots 250g
olive oil 1 tbsp
For the dressing:
natural yoghurt 5 heaped tbsp
chopped dill 1 tbsp
lemon juice of half
cider vinegar 1 tbsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
To finish:
sesame seeds 1 tbsp
nigella seeds 1 tsp
poppy seeds 1 tsp
Peel the candy-striped beetroot and the carrots, then slice as thinly as you can using a sharp knife, or better still, a mandolin, then place them in a mixing bowl. Pour over the cider vinegar and set aside for an hour or longer.
For the roast beetroots, preheat the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Wash but don’t peel the roots. Place a large piece of kitchen foil in a roasting tin, put the beets in the middle of the foil and pour over the oil. Season with salt, then bring the foil up around them and scrunch the edges loosely together. Bake for 45 minutes until you can pierce them effortlessly with a metal skewer.
Make the dressing: put the yoghurt in a small mixing bowl, add the chopped dill, a little salt and black pepper, then beat in the lemon juice, cider vinegar and olive oil and set aside. In a shallow pan over a moderate heat, toast the sesame seeds and nigella seeds for a minute or two, until the sesame turns pale gold and starts to smell fragrant, then remove from the heat and add the poppy seeds.
Peel the oranges with a knife, removing any white pith, then slice the fruit thinly. Toss together the raw beetroot, drained of its vinegar, the oranges and the yoghurt dressing. Cut the roasted beets in half. Arrange the salad on a serving plate and scatter over the seed mixture.
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