Recipe: Herbed Yogurt Cheese

HERBED YOGURT CHEESE

"I was still in high school when my mom introduced me to delicious garlic-and-herb-flavored French Boursin, a soft, spreadable cow's milk cheese. Years later, working in the test kitchen at Gourmet, I set myself the task of developing a homemade alternative to Boursin that somehow retained all the rich flavors of the original with far fewer calories. Eventually it dawned on me that yogurt was the way to go. If you drain yogurt overnight you'll discover the next day that it's acquired a decidedly cheeselike solidity. At that point you can flavor it with anything. (You are not required to go the Boursin wanna-be route.)

You're welcome to make this recipe with low-fat or nonfat yogurt, but you'll naturally end up with low-flavor or no-flavor cheese.

Serve in a crock with Bette's Melba Toast, Oven-Baked Rosemary Potato Chips, or Pita Croutons, and it is even better a few days later."

2 cups whole-milk yogurt
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme, preferably lemon thyme
1 small shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Line a large strainer with a double layer of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth or a layer of rinsed and squeezed paper towels. Spoon the yogurt into the strainer and set over a bowl to drain. Cover with plastic wrap, put in the refrigerator, and drain for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove the yogurt cheese from the cheesecloth and place in a small bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Spoon into a decorative crock and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Makes about 1 3/4 cups
Excerpted from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home by Sara Moulton
Copyright 2002 by Sara Moulton. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.