Yogurt’s Three Best Uses: Salad, Stuffed Zucchini and Banana Cake

The article argues that plain yogurt is one of the most useful ingredients in the modern kitchen, especially the Levantine kind, which it describes as tangy, bold and meant to anchor a dish rather than soften it. It notes that in the Middle East and the Balkans, yogurt has long been treated as a base ingredient, not a dessert, and says it pairs especially well with garlic, fresh herbs, olive oil and even meat.

To show that range, the piece presents three recipes. The first is a summer cucumber salad with mint and plenty of garlic, built around 3 firm cucumbers or 6 small ones, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, a generous handful of mint, 3 heaped tablespoons of yogurt with at least 4% fat, plus salt, pepper and olive oil. The second is a classic Levantine dish of 10 small zucchini stuffed with rice and chickpeas, or lentils, then baked in a hot yogurt sauce made from 2 cups of yogurt, 1 egg and 1 tablespoon cornstarch, stabilized with dried mint. The third is a banana loaf that uses 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, melted butter and cardamom to create a moist crumb and lets baking soda react with the yogurt’s acidity.

The article also recommends a Greek yogurt product by Gad called “Greek Yogurt Pro” with added protein. It says the new version contains 10% protein and 117 calories per 100 grams, and praises its thick, creamy taste as natural rather than artificial. The piece ends with a separate, lighter story about Egyptian geese in Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv, where a pair nested near construction work, the female disappeared for a time, then returned with seven chicks. Residents built improvised ramps and platforms to help the goslings escape city fountains, and the article says the chicks survived, signs about proper feeding were posted, and the area became a small local example of coexistence.