Downright delicious

Get creative with these recipes from celebrity chef, John Torode

How do you usually eat yoghurt? Straight from the carton with a spoon? Over fresh fruit? Perhaps topped with granola?

As well as being a delicious breakfast food (or a healthier dessert), yoghurt is also an wonderfully versatile ingredient. Here celebrity chef puts this dairy product through it's paces with a range of deliciously different recipes. Simple yet succulent, it's time to get stirring...

Baked Turkish Eggs With Yogurt & Chilli

This spicy turkish eggs recipe will liven up your breakfast.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus for drizzling
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 large eggs
• 200g Rachel’s Natural Yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

To serve:

• 50g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Lemon juice

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Grease an ovenproof dish or small ramekins.

To make the sauce, take the onion and olive oil and sweat gently in a shallow frying pan. Add the cayenne pepper and cumin and cook for 2 minutes until terracotta in colour. Add the tinned tomatoes and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce into a large oven proof dish or ramekins.

Mix the yogurt with the salt, garlic and lemon juice.

Dot the yogurt mixture in 6 places on top of the tomato and onion sauce. Make an indent with a large spoon, then break the eggs into each indent and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Place in the oven for 8 minutes until the eggs bake.

In a small pan heat the butter, cayenne and lemon juice and pour it around the cooked eggs.

Place on the table and serve with Turkish flat bread.

Yogurt Crusted Indian Spiced Chicken

A simple summer dish, this chicken recipe is marinated with aromatic garlic , ginger and Indian spices , combined with creamy yogurt.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 whole chicken, deboned and portioned or 10 pieces
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of salt
• 2 red chillies, deseeded
• 250ml Rachel’s Greek Style Coconut Yogurt
• 100g fresh ginger, chopped Juice of 2 lemons Handful of fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Handful of chopped coriander

To serve:

• Use fresh dill and slices of lemon

Method

Begin by making a paste with the garlic and ginger and whiz them both in a food processor until finely chopped. With the juice of the lemons and the garlic add the ginger paste and rub this all over the chicken, then add the salt and thyme leaves. Leave the chicken to marinade for 1-2 hours or overnight if possible.

Dry roast all the spices in a small frying pan until hot, shuffle the spices around so that they toast evenly and become fragrant. Place these in a food processor alongside the chillies and fresh coriander to make a second paste. Stir in the yogurt. This is the second marinade.

Rub the spiced yogurt marinade over the chicken and if possible leave for a further 30 minutes.

Meanwhile heat up the grill or barbeque!

Portugese Banana Yogurt Cake

This cake is moorish, soft and really easy to make.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 150g Rachel’s Greek Style Honey Yogurt
• 2 bananas, blended to a puree with a squeeze of lemon juice
• 250g plain flour
• 120g caster sugar
• 80ml vegetable oil
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 large eggs

For the icing:

• 80g Rachel’s Greek Style Honey Yogurt
• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 24cm ring cake mould or alternatively you could use a large loaf tin.

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to remove all lumps.

Pour the cake batter into the mould and place in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, until light brown and springy to touch.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cake on to a wire rack to cool further.

Meanwhile make the icing by placing the yogurt in a small bowl, add the icing sugar and beat well. Pour over the cake and leave to set.