Mr. Yakityak's Fig & Walnut Frozen Yogurt
This is the frozen yogurt version of the ice cream recipe. It's marginally healthier than the ice cream version if you're worried about saturated fats, calories, or sugar content. We tried reducing the sugar content further and using stevia, but wound up with a tart block of ice with figs and walnuts. The bottom line is that in order to make non-fat frozen yogurt at all edible from a texture standpoint, you need to add things to alter the freezing point. Normal humans do this by adding things like sugar, fat or alcohol. Mega-conglomerate food corporations achieve this result by putting in highly processed emulsifiers and thickeners that alter viscosity and freezing point without changing fat content or sugar content. So... in the end, we realized it's a "devil you know" vs. "devil you don't know" predicament when it comes to balancing the conflicting aims of making frozen yogurt palatable/edible vs. "heart healthy" and low glycemic-index. We've opted for the devil we know and love, and just don't indulge all that often.
Ingredients
- 2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped dried figs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted & chopped
Method
Mix the water and dried figs in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the flame to medium-low and cook for about 20 mins until the figs are very soft and all the water has evaporated. Puree to a rough paste once the figs have cooled to room temperature.
After the figs have cooled, mix with the other ingredients. Chill.
The next day, churn it in the ice-cream maker according to the directions of your particular brand manufacturer, adding the walnuts in the last few minutes.
Transfer to a container with a tight lid and freeze until completely set.