Yogurt, with its clean, tangy taste and smooth consistency, has lent itself to dishes from the eastern Mediterranean, north into the Caucasus, east through Afghanistan, and south to India since the time of Genghis Khan. In recent times, yogurt has moved from a relatively unknown food outside those regions to being embraced by the French as a snack food (Yoplait) and from there, into the mainstream of American healthy cooking. Yogurt was always in my culinary vocabulary—we called it by its Armenian name, madzoon—and it was a staple side sauce, sometimes plain, sometimes with cucumbers, always served alongside pilaf and other Armenian dishes my mother prepared. When I established my own household, I began to delve further into yogurt’s possibilities. I discovered it can substitute in almost any recipe that calls for milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or crème fraîche. It is especially delightful used to impart a refreshing taste to cooked sauces, to thicken soups, or to serve as the base for sweets, such as Yogurt Panna Cotta (page 285). In this chapter, you will find yogurt basics, along with a collection of recipes based on my yogurt explorations.
Makes 2 quarts
Making a large batch of yogurt was a regular affair in the kitchens of my mother, and of my Armenian grandmother and aunts. The process was so routine that it was done at least twice a week. That was a different era. Today, there are excellent, homemade-tasting commercial yogurts available even in supermarkets, and I rely on them as a time-saving alternative. Still, I offer the recipe, as my mother taught it to me, in case you’d like to try your hand at yogurt making.
2 quarts 2% milk (see box, page 19)
¼ cup starter yogurt, at room temperature, or one 10-gram pack powdered yogurt starter
Place the milk in a large, heavy enamel or nonstick saucepan over medium to medium-low heat. Bring to just below the boiling point, 180°F. This will take about 50 minutes, maybe a little more, depending on the size of the pot. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm (100°F), 40 to 45 minutes.
Lift the skin off the top of the milk (I use my fingers) and discard it. In a large bowl, whisk together the starter and 1 cup of the lukewarm milk, then slowly whisk in the remaining lukewarm milk from the pot. Cover first with plastic wrap, then with a towel large enough to wrap around the bowl. Set aside at room temperature until the yogurt is set to a soft custard consistency, at least 6 hours. Refrigerate to chill and firm for at least 3 hours. Will keep fresh-tasting for up to 2 weeks.
YOGURT KNOW-HOW
Yogurt can be made from any cow, sheep, or goat milk, nonfat to whole. I prefer 2% cows’ milk because it results in a soft custard consistency with just the right balance between sharp and creamy flavors.
As important, the taste of the yogurt is also determined by the starter (called magart). I’ve tried making yogurt using a good-quality, commercial organic yogurt as starter; oddly, sometimes it works, and sometimes not, but always without as full a flavor as the original. It’s better to begin with a powdered yogurt starter, available in health food stores.
It’s important to bring the milk to the boiling point very slowly; otherwise, it will scorch on the bottom (not good for the flavor), and the pan will be a real chore to clean.
The time it takes for the yogurt to set is determined by the weather; in warm weather it reaches the desired custard consistency more quickly than in cool weather.
Once going, be sure to save out ½ cup from each batch of yogurt to make the next batch.
Makes one drink
Tan is the preferred beverage to accompany an Armenian meal or snack. Nothing more than yogurt thinned with water, seasoned with salt, and served over ice cubes (perhaps with the refinement of a mint sprig garnish or cucumber spear), it is refreshing—and a delicious way to enjoy the health benefits of calcium.
¾ cup yogurt
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
¾ to 1 cup water
Ice cubes, for serving
1 mint sprig (optional), for serving
1 cucumber spear (optional), for serving
Whisk together the yogurt, salt, and enough of the water to make the desired thinness. Half fill a tall glass with ice cubes and pour the tan into the glass. Garnish with the mint, if using, and serve.
Serves 4 to 6
Jajik is the pervasive yogurt and cucumber side dish–cum–sauce served throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus. My grandmother, Victoria Jenanyan, always added a few ice cubes as she served it. In my family, garlic or herbs were never in the jajik, but I often season the dish with a touch of mint because I like the sweet note it imparts, and because my son, Jenan, likes it that way.
2 cups yogurt
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 medium cucumber
Place the yogurt, salt, and mint, if using, in a bowl and whisk to smooth. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds if they are large. Thinly slice the cucumber, pat the slices dry on paper towels, and stir into the yogurt. Chill before serving. Or, add several ice cubes to the bowl and serve right away (the jajik will be thinner this way).
Makes about 2 cups
Yogurt with spinach can be served as an appetizer with cracker bread (lavosh) or pita bread, or as a side dish with pilafs. It is also especially good as a topping for grilled or broiled tomato halves. For the spinach, frozen won’t do, and it doesn’t need to: fresh spinach is widely available and takes but a moment to prepare. Baby spinach leaves, now also widely available, are great for salads, but for cooking I purchase bunched spinach—it gives more flavor when cooked and is doubly economical because the root ends can be wilted separately and used to garnish pilafs or stirred into stews.
1½ cups yogurt, drained for 30 minutes (page 24)
1 large bunch spinach, leaves and tender stems, finely chopped (4 packed cups)
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Wash the spinach, drain it, and transfer while still moist to a large pot or microwave dish. Cover and cook on medium heat on the stove top or on high in the microwave until completely wilted but still bright green, about 5 minutes on the stove top or 3 minutes in the microwave. Drain in a colander and set aside to cool.
Place the drained yogurt in a bowl. Mince the garlic together with the salt and add it to the yogurt. Squeeze the spinach to remove any remaining liquid and add it to the yogurt. Mix with a fork, distributing the spinach throughout. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
For a fancier Armenian version, sometimes served for Easter, stir in 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or dill and ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Add a Turkish touch with 1 teaspoon ground cumin stirred into the yogurt, along with the spinach.
Take the dish in an Indian direction: warm 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until the seeds begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour over the chilled yogurt and spinach just before serving.
For yogurt-based appetizers, side dishes, and sauces, the yogurt is first drained of its whey to achieve a thicker consistency and denser flavor in the dish. When left to drain overnight or longer, the yogurt becomes cheeselike and can be spread on bread or rolled into balls and marinated (page 50). Following are the guidelines for those various stages.
Makes about 3 cups
1 quart yogurt
Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, making sure to have a generous drape over the sides. Set the colander in a bowl that holds its bottom well above the bottom of the bowl. Place the yogurt in the colander and set aside at room temperature to drain until reduced to 3 cups, 2 to 4 hours, depending on the consistency of the yogurt to begin with. Use right away, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Makes about 1 cup
2 cups drained yogurt (see preceding recipe)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Stir the salt into the drained yogurt in the colander. Cover and refrigerate to continue draining. Leave for 12 hours (overnight) to achieve a cream cheese texture. Leave for 24 hours to achieve a firmer, chèvrelike texture. Be sure to pour off the whey accumulated in the bowl whenever it reaches up to the bottom of the colander.
To serve yogurt cream cheese, dish it into a bowl and accompany with olives and pita or cracker bread. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To serve firmer yogurt cheese, see page 50.
Makes 2 cups
With yogurt as the catalyst, sweet cream thickens into a nippy crème fraîche. Use it as you would sour cream to sauce Cabbage Sarmas (page 243) or Poppy Seed Cake (page 279).
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon yogurt
Whisk together the cream and yogurt in a bowl until smooth and well mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the weather, until very thick like crème fraîche. Use right away, or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Makes about 1⅔ cups
Béchamel, or white sauce, is a base for many classic European, Eastern Mediterranean, and American dishes. Though out of the ordinary, making béchamel with yogurt instead of milk situates it squarely within Armenian cooking, and it’s an innovation I’ve turned to as my favorite. You can use it as a base for sauces to go on fish, poultry, and vegetables; to enrich soups; to layer in lasagna and vegetable gratins (Armenian Moussaka, page 148); to bind fillings (Chard Leaf Sarmas, page 246); or to nap warm, open-face sandwiches of chicken or chipped beef. I always make béchamel in the microwave because it’s a virtually fail-safe method, which is why I’ve listed it first.
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups yogurt, stirred to smooth
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
To cook in the microwave: Place the butter in a large bowl and microwave uncovered on high for 2 minutes, until foaming. Remove and whisk in the flour. Return to the microwave and cook uncovered on high until boiling, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove, whisk in the yogurt, and microwave uncovered on high for 2 minutes. Remove again, whisk to smooth, and continue microwaving uncovered on high until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the salt and nutmeg, if using.
To cook on the stove top: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Whisk in the flour, decrease the heat to medium, and continue whisking until the mixture begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the yogurt and salt, whisk to smooth, and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and creamy, 12 to 15 minutes more. Stir in the salt and nutmeg, if using.
Whether cooked in the microwave or on the stove top, the béchamel may be used right away. Or, cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 week. When ready to serve, reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Serves 4 to 5
Light yet satisfying, tanabour is a centuries-old Armenian comfort food enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A version with wheat berries, rather than pearl barley, is also typical (see Variations). The carrot is not typical, but I add it for color.
4 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow or white onion, finely chopped
½ cup pearl barley
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
1½ cups Drained Yogurt (page 24)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot or pressure cooker over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until well wilted, 5 minutes. Add the barley and stir to mix and coat the grains. Add the broth and salt.
To cook on the stove top, bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 50 minutes, until the barley is tender.
To pressure-cook, lock on the lid and bring to pressure over high heat, about 6 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Gently release any remaining pressure and remove the lid.
Either way, add the carrot to the pot and continue cooking, uncovered, at a simmer until the carrot is tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the yogurt and egg. Set aside. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mint and parsley, immediately remove from the heat, and set aside in a warm place.
When the carrots are done, stir the yogurt mixture into the soup. If necessary, gently reheat without allowing to boil. Ladle into bowls, drizzle some herb butter over the top, and garnish with black pepper. Serve right away.
VARIATIONS
In place of the pearl barley, you can also use:
Whole wheat berries (available in natural food stores and grocery markets that carry bulk grains). The cooking time, either on the stove top or in the pressure cooker, is the same as for pearl barley.
Rice. Use 1 cup long grain white rice and cook on the stove top rather than the pressure cooker. Simmer for only 25 minutes before adding the carrots.
Serves 4
On blustery, cold Saturdays, my mother would whip up a soup like this for our family lunch. I’ve always loved her sublime inspiration of adding celery to potato soup. It’s a repeat performance in my kitchen, except now I add an Armenian touch with yogurt, rather than a milk roux, for the thickening and enrichment.
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 leek, trimmed, halved, thinly sliced, and washed
3 ribs celery, trimmed and thinly sliced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large sprig thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Place the potatoes, leek, celery, broth, thyme, and salt in a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are very tender and mashable, about 20 minutes. Remove the thyme sprig and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, whisk the yogurt until smooth. Slowly add 2 cups of the slightly cooled soup, continuing to whisk to break up the potato pieces. Set aside.
Using the whisk, mash the potatoes in the pot until the mixture is somewhat smooth but still chunky. Return the pot to the burner over medium heat and reheat until beginning to boil. Whisk in the yogurt mixture and serve right away, garnished with the chives.