Recipe - Mediterranean Yogurt

1 md Clove garlic
1/3 cup Parsley
1/3 cup Fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup Fresh dill sprigs
1/3 cup Fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup Fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon Fresh thyme
4 Dried apricots; (3 to 4) (a
sof and tart variety)
1/3 cup Golden raisins
1/3 cup Walnuts; lightly toasted
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
2 cup Plain lowfat yogurt; firm
Salt; to taste
Cayenne; to taste

OPTIONAL GARNISHES
Cayenne; a light dusting
4 Sprigs parsley; small
Walnut halves; lightly
toasted

Place the garlic, all the herbs, the dried fruit, and the walnuts in a
processor, and pulse until it forms a paste.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and yogurt. Add salt and
cayenne to taste.

Cover tightly and refrigerate until use. For a finished look, you can
sprinkle a little extra Cayenne on top, and decorate with a few walnut
halves just before serving.

Makes 3 cups. Prep. 10 mins. PER 1/4cup SERVING without nuts: 234 cals,
2.4 g fat, 8.1%

"I first envisioned this recipe as a kind or multiherb Mediterranean Pesto
with a touch of fruit. It tasted okay that way, but was dark and somewhat
drab, bpth in looks and in taste so I stirred in some yogurt to lighten it
up, and what a success! It popped! It sparkled! It became Mediterranean
Yogurt, now one my favorite condiments.

"This sauce can be served alone. as an appetizer or a light lunch entree it
is also amazingly compatible with a number of foods. You can serve it as a
dip for raw or steamed vegetables. in pita bread with anything and
everything. as a sauce for vegetable or grains on baked fish . . . The list
is endless.

"Mediterranean Yogurt keeps for about a week in a tightly covered container
in the refrigerator. However the color won't hold past the first day."

kitpath nov 1997

Recipe by: Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven (1997)