Yogurt

Pastry chef Nicole Krasinski adores making desserts with yogurt. “It adds a great, unexpected tang, and you can use it to make custard without eggs.” She tops her light, panna cotta-like custards with a vivid mix of sweetened cranberries, chopped apple and fennel.

This moist, nutty bread is a terrific way to use up late-summer zucchini. The walnuts in the bread are super-heart-healthy, and the yogurt adds moisture without any fat.

Chicken curry comes from tangy Greek-style low-fat yogurt, which Grace Parisi cleverly blends with fresh tomatoes, corn kernels, serrano chile, ginger and curry powder for immense flavor.

More people should eat chickpeas at breakfast: The legumes have lots of folate, essential minerals and fiber, which helps regulate blood sugar. The chefs at Marisa May's restaurant, SD26, sometimes make these stewy, savory chickpeas for her when she hasn't had a chance to eat something filling at home.

Dinner doesn’t get much simpler than this: Boil some rice and toss it with pesto, yogurt, and rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. Leftover cooked chicken or turkey will work just fine, too.

This super healthy dish packs in tons of fiber.

A Spanish tortilla is like a frittata. Francis Mallmann makes a lovely spring version with yogurt, fresh mint and sweet peas, baked in an oven (preferably a wood-fired oven) until just set. It's delicious served warm or at room temperature.

Pepperoncini (long, thin Italian pickled chiles) give Marcia Kiesel's otherwise-mild soup an appealingly tangy flavor.

Oats and almonds may both help lower blood pressure; they're incorporated here in an ingenious granola crust for this sweet-tart pie.

These crêpes are like free-form blintzes, with thick and creamy Greek-style yogurt standing in for the cheese filling and a quick topping made with preserves and frozen raspberries.

At Shahpura Bagh, a luxurious guesthouse in the Rajasthani countryside, chefs marinate lamb in yogurt to make it exceptionally tender, then give it an extra burst of tangy flavor with a basting of lemon butter just before serving.