Foodie Fridays: Strawberry-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt
Making frozen yogurt at home is easier than you think!
As the weatherman in my steamy part of the country increases his use of words like “blazing” and phrases like “hot streak” (which we all know comes just before the dreaded “heat wave”), I find myself wanting to just crawl into my freezer and not resurface until September. Sadly, that’s not terribly realistic, so I decided to make something frozen instead. When you can’t control the temperature outside, you may as well try to control the temperature inside, right? Ice cream seemed a little too heavy, and I wasn’t interested in the hands-on approach required by granita, but when I spied a bag of strawberries in the deep freeze, I knew that frozen yogurt would hit that frosty spot perfectly.
You can certainly make frozen yogurt from fresh, in-season fruit, but let me tell you a little secret: if you use frozen fruit, you only need a food processor and you don’t have to drag out the ice cream maker OR wait for your yogurt mixture to get cold. By the time you’ve blended the frozen fruit with the yogurt, you’ll already have soft-serve consistency fro-yo, the perfect solution for those “I wish I could climb inside the freezer” moments. The only down side is that you can’t strain the seeds from a frozen berry mixture, so keep that in mind if using a seedy berry.
Don’t have Greek-style yogurt? No problem! Just line a strainer with a piece of cheesecloth, place it over a bowl and pour in regular yogurt. Allow to sit in your fridge overnight to let moisture drain out, leaving a thicker yogurt similar to Greek-style.
Get crazy and switch up the flavors to suit your tastes. Use three cups of fruit, but use any fruit you like. Keep it classic or have a little fun with flavor combinations (peach-raspberry is next on my list). I can’t think of a better – or easier – way to greet that summer heat!
Strawberry-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt
3 cups frozen strawberries (hulled if fresh)
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup Greek-style yogurt
Place berries in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. If using frozen berries, it’s best to work in batches and be patient. Add sugar and orange juice and process for another minute. Add yogurt and pulse until completely blended.
If using frozen fruit, you should have soft-serve consistency frozen yogurt at this point. Either serve immediately or transfer to a bowl, cover and let it harden in the freezer.
If using fresh/thawed fruit, strain seeds if desired, transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or overnight. When mixture is completely chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Either serve immediately or transfer to a storage container and let harden in the freezer.
Yield: approximately eight 1/2 cup servings
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