Yogurt Cheese

Pretend it is a beautiful day.  (It happens here sometimes!) You want to get together with friends, but you really have nothing to serve up as an appetizer. Yogurt Cheese to the rescue! I don't know about you, but plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt has a constant presence in our house.

 

Yogurt cheese is simply strained yogurt, like uber drained greek yogurt. Simply put a few scoops of yogurt into a clean cloth napkin or non-terry cloth towel. Twist and squeeze the whey out of the package, then set in a strainer. Put this in the fridge and every 20 min or so, go back and re-squeeze (or just leave it over night and let gravity do the work!). I like to save the whey for my dog, but you can just throw it out.

When you are ready to serve, plop the yogurt cheese into a bowl, sprinkle with a finely chopped garlic clove, a few twists of pepper and a bit of chunky sea salt, then drizzle with olive oil. Serve with crackers or bread. The cheese is rich and creamy, not unlike a good goat cheese.

This is also a great base for Tzatziki (a Greek cucumber yogurt dip). Grate a peeled cucumber. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from it then stir into the yogurt cheese. Perfect summer food!