Janet Fletcher shares savory, sweet yogurt recipes from around the world

In the Middle East and the Balkan Peninsula, yogurt has traditionally served as the little black dress of the kitchen, a go-to ingredient perfect for every season and every meal.

With its distinctive tang and creamy texture, the dairy superstar perks up all kinds of savory and sweet concoctions, from vegetable salads and soups to beefy stews and fruity desserts.

With the recent explosion of yogurts on grocery store shelves in the U.S., however, consumers have grown confused about what kind of yogurt to buy - regular or Greek, low-fat or whole-milk, flavored or plain - even if it’s just for a morning pick-me-up or an afternoon snack.

That’s one reason Napa food writer Janet Fletcher mounted a crusade to tout the healthy and flavorful benefits of yogurt, firing a shot across the bow with her book, “Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner” (Ten Speed Press, 2015).

“I think the introduction of Greek yogurt really put yogurt on the radar for a lot of people,” Fletcher said in a phone interview from her home. “I saw how many new yogurts and styles were available, and people seemed very confused by them ... They were standing at the grocery store, reading labels and not knowing what to buy.”

In “Yogurt,” Fletcher helps people figure out what kind of yogurt to buy while tapping into the current, DIY and fermentation trends by providing a foolproof yogurt recipe that allows readers to make it themselves, just like back in the 1970s.

All you have to do is heat and cool some milk, add a starter culture - it can come from your favorite commercial yogurt - and incubate the mixture at 108 degrees until set.

“It’s a lot easier than making cheese, and you’re going to succeed with it,” Fletcher said. “It’s fun to do with kids, because there’s some element of magic to it.”

The book provides a dollop of the science behind yogurt, including how the two main bacteria - Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii bulgaricus - work together, lowering the pH and then consuming the milk sugar (lactose) to turn it into lactic acid.

The history of yogurt reaches back to 5000 BCE in Central Asia, where food historians believe the first yogurt was made by accident, Fletcher said. It was embraced after people realized that the fermentation process would discourage spoilage and prolong the life of their highly perishable milk.

In the early 1900s, a Russian microbiologist named Ilya Mechnikov started to link the high consumption of yogurt in Bulgaria to their long lives. The idea, still cutting-edge in probiotics research today, is that the boosting of lactic acid bacteria in the gut enables the gut to combat toxic bacteria.

His work caught the attention of a Greek man, Isaac Carasso, who moved to Spain and started “prescribing” yogurt to help the children suffering from intestinal illnesses there. His son, Daniel Carasso, went on to sell yogurt to the French, then brought it to the Bronx in 1942, where he founded Dannon yogurt.

“The evidence is really mounting that yogurt has probiotic benefits,” Fletcher said. “If you buy it, it will say ‘live active cultures’ on the ingredient label. If it doesn’t, that means it was pasteurized for shelf stability. Don’t get that yogurt.”

Fletcher, who started eating Dannon yogurt in high school, said she prefers plain, whole-milk yogurt, made with live culture but no extra stabilizers such as pectin or gelatin.

“I just love the tang and the mouthfeel, and I love it plain,” she said. “One of the reasons I make my own is it’s not easy to find a plain, whole-milk yogurt ... that’s not the Greek yogurt.”

The most ideal yogurt she has found on the market is made by Straus Family Creamery, which has a thinner texture but a rich flavor that’s not too acidic.

She prefers the whole-milk products because without the extra fat, the tang of the yogurt becomes much more pronounced.

“You don’t save very many calories,” she said. “And honestly, you sacrifice a lot.”

If you’ve made your own yogurt before, you’ll notice that Fletcher’s method is a little bit different from most recipes because she likes a thicker texture.

“I add nonfat dried milk powder, which makes it more thick and stable,” she said. “And I bring it up to a higher temperature and hold it longer.”

Fletcher uses a bread proofer made by Brød & Taylor as an incubator at home, but she also goes the low-tech route and uses Mason jars wrapped in towels, placed in a Styrofoam cooler.

“I make a couple of quarts at a time,” she said. “And it lasts a couple of weeks at least.”

If you want to make Greek yogurt, you just drain the finished yogurt for an extra hour or so to let some whey run off. To make yogurt cheese, she drains it for about a day in the fridge, adding a little salt halfway through.

“Yogurt cheese is tangy and spreadable, with the texture and tang of a fresh chevre,” she said. “I usually put some olive oil on it, and it’s a great base for other seasonings, such as chiles and za’atar.”

If you only eat yogurt for breakfast, Fletcher suggests going to the farmers market and adding some seasonal fresh fruit, or in winter, some poached dried fruit or apricot jam. You can also take the fresh fruit and make a sauce, such as a cinnamon apple compote or a blueberry sauce.

“Yogurt,” which includes more than 50 recipes for appetizers, salads, soups, sauces, marinades, beverages and desserts, also feeds into the current fascination with Mediterranean food.

“The yogurt salads of Persia and the Balkans and North India are so popular,” she said. “Everybody knows the raita from Indian and tzatziki (sauces) from Greece, so I think it’s easy to get excited about the yogurt salads of Iran and Turkey.”

Her yogurt salads make use of all kinds of summer vegetables, from roasted tomatoes and cucumbers to carrots, eggplant and cauliflower.

Then there are all kinds of vegetable side dishes that take you into the shoulder season, when the butternut squash are shoulder-to-shoulder with green beans, zucchini and chard. One of her favorite recipes is a grilled zucchini with yogurt sauce, feta, lemon and dill.

“It’s a perfect recipe,” she said. “It’s so simple ... you could do it with eggplant as well, or grilled portabello mushrooms.”

Desserts range from absinthe’s golden yogurt cake to the seasonal warm figs with Pernod, candied walnuts and yogurt.

“Pernod really gives it that je ne sais quoi,” she said of the anise-flavored liqueur.

The following recipes are reprinted with permission from “Yogurt,” by Janet Fletcher, copyright 2015, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Grilled Hanger Steak with Grilled Red Onion Raita

Makes 4 servings

11/3 -11/2 pounds hanger steak

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon mixed peppercorns (white, black, green, pink), crushed in a mortar or with a pepper grinder

For Red Onion Raita:

1 large red onion (10 to 12 ounces)

- Vegetable oil

- Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced

1 tablespoon finely minced cilantro or 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

Hanger steak has a tough membrane running down the center. You can leave this membrane in place, trimming it away as you eat the steak, or you can remove it before grilling. The latter is my preference, as the meat is easier for guests to eat with no pesky membrane to cut around. To remove the membrane, use a boning knife or other sharp knife to slice carefully on either side of it and lift it out cleanly, with little or no meat attached. You will be left with 2 disconnected strips of hanger steak. Rearrange them side by side and tie in several places with butcher’s twine to re-create a single steak.

Combine the salt and crushed pepper. Season the meat all over with the mixture. Set a flat rack on a tray and set the meat on the rack so air circulates underneath. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before grilling.

Prepare a moderate charcoal fire in the center of your grill, leaving the outer rim devoid of coals so you can grill the red onions over indirect heat. Alternatively, preheat a gas grill to medium, leaving one burner unlit for indirect grilling.

To make the raita: Peel the onion and slice neatly into ½-inch-thick rounds. Carefully thread a thin bamboo skewer through each slice to hold the rings together. Brush the slices with oil on each side, and season with salt and pepper on each side. Grill over indirect heat-not directly over the coals or gas flame-turning once, until the onions are soft and slightly charred, about 25 minutes. Do not rush them or they will blacken before they are fully cooked. Transfer to a cutting board and pull out the skewers. If the outer ring of the onion slices is dry and papery, discard it. Chop the remainder of the onion coarsely.

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, cilantro or mint, and cumin. In a small skillet or butter warmer, warm 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Have the skillet lid handy. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Protecting your face with the lid, cook until the mustard seeds pop and become fragrant, 1 minute or less. Pour the hot oil and mustard seeds over the yogurt and stir in. Fold in the grilled onion. Season the raita with salt.

Grill the hanger steak directly over the coals or gas flame, turning once, until the meat is done to your taste, about 10 minutes for rare. (Hanger steak is best if not cooked beyond medium-rare.) Let rest 5 minutes. Remove the string (if you tied the meat) and slice thinly against the grain. Serve immediately with the red onion raita.

Grilled Zucchini with Yogurt Sauce, Feta, ?Lemon & Dill

Makes 4 servings

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 large clove garlic, grated or finely minced

- Kosher or sea salt

6 small zucchini (about 1 1/ 4 pounds), halved lengthwise

- Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

3 ounces feta cheese (about 3/4 cup), chilled

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

- Grated zest of 1 small lemon

- Medium-hot coarsely ground red pepper, such as Aleppo or Maras pepper (or hot paprika)

repare a medium-hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, and salt to taste. Spread the yogurt sauce on a serving platter large enough to hold all the zucchini in one layer.

Brush the zucchini on both sides with olive oil and season all over with salt. Place cut side down on the grill and cook until nicely browned, and then turn and finish cooking on the skin side until they are tender, about 10 minutes total.

Transfer the zucchini to the platter, placing them on the yogurt sauce cut side up. Finely crumble the feta over the zucchini. (This is easier to do if the feta is cold.) Combine the dill and lemon zest and scatter over the zucchini, and then sprinkle generously with red pepper. Serve immediately.

Chopped Summer ?Vegetable Salad with Farro, Yogurt & Za’atar

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup semi-pearled faro

For garlic vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, plus more if needed

1 teaspoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce

1 clove garlic, finely minced

- Kosher or sea salt

For yogurt sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 large clove garlic, grated or finely minced

For salad:

1 tablespoon za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice blend)

1/2 pound cucumbers, preferably Persian, Japanese, or hothouse English variety

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and pale green parts only

1/2 cup loosely packed whole cilantro leaves (no stems)

2-3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

1 large handful small arugula, watercress, or purslane leaves (no thick stems)

1/2 pound ripe but firm tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch dice

1/2 large ripe but firm avocado, cut into 1/3-inch dice

Bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the farro and reduce the heat to medium; skim off any surface foam.

Cover partially, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook until the farro is al dente - fully cooked but still firm to the tooth - about 30 minutes. Drain well in a sieve, and then transfer to a large bowl.

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, and salt to taste.

Spoon about 11/2 tablespoons dressing over the farro, enough to coat it lightly, and toss well with a fork. Taste and add more salt or a splash of vinegar if needed.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, and salt to taste. Make a bed of yogurt sauce on a large platter, using it all. Sprinkle the za’atar over the yogurt.

If the cucumbers have a thick or waxed skin, peel them; if not, then leave unpeeled. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. If they have large seeds, scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. If the seeds are small, no need to remove. Cut the cucumber into 1/3-inch dice and add to the farro along with the green onions, cilantro, and mint. Add more dressing and toss gently to mix. Add the arugula, tomatoes, and avocado.

Drizzle with the remainder of the dressing and toss gently to avoid breaking up the tomatoes and avocado. Taste for salt and vinegar.

Using your hands, mound the farro salad on top of the yogurt, leaving a visible border of yogurt. Serve immediately.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.