Last week I attended a media event where a lucky few bloggers and journalist got to sample a few Greek recipes made with Oikos Greek yogurt. The event took place at Martin Juneau’s new restaurant, Pastaga. Martin is one of the hot commodity Montreal chefs and he prepared one of the recipes of the evening, inspired by a culinary trip to Greece with another chef from Vancouver, Anthony Sedlack. Their Greek chef host was none other than Diane Kochilas, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Greek cuisine.
Here is a( bad) cellphone photo of the wonderful dessert created by Diane Kochila. Don’t judge on the picture, it was awesome so it is worth sharing. The topping on the cake was an Orange marmalade with candied Orange peel created by a chef at Pastaga but you can improvise your own topping.
Ξ Greek Yogurt Cheese Cake Ξ
1 3/4 cups crumbled graham crackers, cinnamon cookies or Mastiha-scented cookies or wafers
3 tbsp Greek honey
6 egg whites
1 pound cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 cups Oikos Greek drained yogurt
Topping options: preserved fruit, fruits, sweets, nuts
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF).
2. Combine the cookie crumbs and honey in a bowl. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 22-cm (9-inch) spring form pan. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the Oikos yogurt and mix to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. The filling will still look soft.
4.Remove from oven and let the cheesecake stand at room temperature for one hour before topping with preserved fruit. Spread one of the Greek spoon sweets on top and chill for a few hours until completely set.
On Friday I had dinner with my mom and told her about the event I attended. So she tells me she could have sworn the Greek yogurt she had at home contained 18gr of protein per serving. I was not convinced at all, how can yogurt have such a high protein content? Well I checked my container at home and indeed this one had 17gr of protein per serving. It turns out Greek yogurt is a great source of protein. Who knew!
Un pur délice !
Bon week end
Wow, thanks for sharing this! I love cheesecake in most of its forms, but Greek yogurt must make it extra delicious. And yes, Greek yogurt is a powerhouse of protein: on days when I have it with cereal instead of milk, I can feel the difference throughout the morning, it keeps me much fuller.
MMMM – sounds so so good!! I love traditional cheesecake, but it is SO heavy that I know lightened up versions can often be equally good. Plus, I have such unstable blood sugar that anything with a ton of protein is ALWAYS a good idea!!
This looks DELICIOUS
Mom is always right… 🙂 I wouldn’t believe about 17 or 18g of protein too. I was told by the pediatrician that it’s great for kids to take protein before going to school. He mentioned milk has some source of protein but didn’t say about Greek yogurt. How about regular one? I need to find it out. I’m feeding greek yogurt every morning as soon as I buy one! The cheesecake looks good! We have a great reason to eat that…right? 😉
Evelyne, the cheesecake looks fabulous with Greek yogurt…and good to know that it has high protein.
Hope you have a great week ahead 🙂
Perhaps I amy be considered biased here since I am Greek, but I have to admit that I have never tasted a yogurt as rich as the Greek! I’ve been in the States studying and I tried several brands but the texture was not even close to the Greek one, honestly! The cheesecake looks wonderful and I am sure it had a very rich flavor!
I love Greek yogurt!!! This cheesecake looks wonderful, and love that they served it at a restaurant:-) Hugs, Terra
I am a sucker for Greek cheese. It’s so delicious and much healthier than cream cheese. Thank you for sharing it.
OMG, that cheesecake look and sound amazing! I’ve never seen one that uses both cream cheese and yogurt. I just did a skinny cheesecake where you can use Greek yogurt or farmer’s cheese, but I would most definitely take yours over any skinny or full-fat cheesecake, for that matter. Love the plating! Looking forward to trying it!
I’ve made my own Greek yogurt for a while now, but I hardly ever cook with it. This could be a great start!
Oh, boy does that cheesecake sound yummy!!! And with all that Greek yogurt, it’s practically health food, right? At least that’s my rationalization 🙂
Yeah – I guess because it’s strained Greek yogurt is indeed higher in protein than its more pedestrian cousin. I have Greek yogurt and honey every morning for breakfast, love it!
I’ve never even had Greek yogurt before let alone cook with it.