Just Add Yoghurt

The only way I get through my morning gym session is by watching cooking shows. First it was Huey’s Cooking and most recently Ben’s Kitchen. You may think that watching chefs cook indulgent, mouth-watering food is an odd choice when attempting to get healthy, however I love it. I love learning about different flavour combinations and how to present a truly fulfilling meal for all the senses. Recently on Ben’s Kitchen, he made a vanilla cake. At the onset it sounds a bit boring – something a Balfours tea cake would trump. However he proceeded to make a beautiful crema with mascarpone and cream and finish it off with fresh berries and nuts for some freshness and texture. The cake was ripped apart and each element was placed on the plate in a rustic manner that resulted in height and alluring colour. I wanted to do the same but needed an occasion. So when we were having family over for dinner, I took the opportunity. This red (or in my case pink because I only had pink food ...

I’m a little fussy when it comes to vegetables. Texture can both excite and disgust me and for some reason zucchinis fall into the latter category. Cut thick I’m not a huge fan. However grated I’m all ears. So to increase my vegetable intake I started making zucchini fritters. These zucchini fritters are a perfect way to get vegetables into your kids or into fussy kid-like adults (yes…that’s me). Ingredients: 1 ½ zucchinis 1 tablespoon yoghurt 1 egg 1 clove garlic 150 grams ricotta cheese 1 teaspoon of dried oregano 1 teaspoons dried chili (optional) Salt and paper 3 tablespoons flour. Method: Grate the zucchini Squeeze the zucchini to remove any excess moisture To the grated zucchini add the yoghurt, egg, ricotta cheese, oregano, chili salt and pepper Sift in flour and mix well. Heat a pan with oil Add a tablespoon of mixture and form into a circle Cook until brown on each side – around 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot ...

I was one of those strange kids growing up – I didn’t really like pancakes. They never excited me.  This disinterest in pancakes stayed with me throughout university. However when eating breakfast with a friend at Billy Baxter I decided to try their savoury ham and cheese pancake. Its cheesy and meaty goodness transformed my opinion of the humble pancake. Then when joining Mr Bball at an annual Christmas eve pancake breakfast with his friends I was officially hooked. So when friends were coming over for breakfast, I thought I would make a savoury pancake in honour of my Billy Baxter pancake experience.   Yoghurt and ricotta pancakes Ingredients: ¾ cup wholemeal plan flour ¾ teaspoon bi-carb soda 2/3 cup of Greek yoghurt 1 teaspoon salt Pepper ¼ cup fresh basil roughly chopped 70g ricotta cheese 1 egg ¼ cup milk Method: Sift flour and bi-carb soda Add the Greek yoghurt, salt, pepper, basil, ricotta cheese and egg a...

Who hasn’t eaten Mars Pods? What about butternut snap cookie tartlets with a beautiful creamy chocolate filling? My sister-in-law makes white chocolate butternut snap cookie tartlets every Easter and they are amazing. Everyone goes crazy over them. This recipe combines the two. A soft sweet cookie with creamy chocolate filling packed with a surprise, honeycomb. I made these for a work fundraiser – bring a plate to raise money for the Nepal earthquake. The earthquake in Nepal was a horrible event so I was really looking forward to helping in some tiny tiny way. This recipe is easy and perfect for any morning or afternoon tea and let me tell you…they flew off the plate!   Ingredients: Cookie base: 120g butter 1 cup brown sugar ¼ cup white sugar 1 egg 1 cup S/R flour ¾ cup plain flour 1 tsp baking powder Chocolate filling: 150g dark chocolate melts 50g butter, chopped 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt 1 violet crumble, chopped ½ boost bar, chopped M...

Two weeks ago I was challenged to combining white fish with yoghurt. My mind raced – there are a lot of possibilities. Fish curry, fish tacos with yoghurt or baked yoghurt, lemon and garlic fish. I thought I’d try something more Asian inspired – a cuisine I don’t cook very often. So I made grilled fish with peanut yoghurt sauce. I opted for blue grenadier because it was the only white fish I could buy at short notice from a generic supermarket that wasn’t farmed or imported from Asia. Ingredients: 2 large pieces of blue grenadier 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 garlic clove crushed 2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce 1 small chili (finely sliced) 1 tablespoon lime juice 2 table spoon natural peanut butter (100% peanuts) ½ cup water 2 tablespoon natural Greek yoghurt. Method: Grill the fish until brown on both sides Meanwhile heat oil in a pan Add garlic and cook until fragrant Add sweet soy sauce, chili and lime juice Mix in the natural peanut butter and water Once the ...

My brother and sister-in-law got us a slow cooker for Christmas. As soon as I unwrapped it, I knew it was pulled meat time. Pulled pork, pulled beef, pulled chicken and of course pulled lamb. I’ve always been a little scared of cooking red meat – nervous about how easy it is to overcook. However after years of bragging about how good Greek food is, I had to deliver when having a few friends over for a Greek dinner party. I consider chicken yiros one of my specialities – it’s easy, light and delicious. However I was dying to try cooking a leg of lamb for the first time. So after being inspired by Kevin from Closet Cooking I ventured into new territory. Thanks Kevin for sharing your amazing lamb recipe! I made a few changes to Kevin’s recipe – more garlic (I love garlic), added some veggies plus I used Nostimini, a Greek spice mix.   Pulled lamb yiros: Pulled lamb Greek pita bread Tzatziki Lettuce Tomato Onion (I grill mine – raw is fine if you like raw onion). L...