Labneh
Labneh is a dish popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. I personally had the opportunity to taste it in Jordan and in Israel and it tasted fantastic in both of these countries. It is a cold dish cold, usually for breakfast. You can serve it with bread as a spread as well as a dip in which you can dip for example vegetables. What is labneh? Simply put, it is a type of yoghurt cheese, which, depending on the length of preparation, can have thicker or loose consistency. In a loose form it is served as a dip and spread, in its thicker form it is served cut into pieces. Most labnehs I’ve tried had a creamy and easy-to-spread form.
Yoghurt is the basis of this dish. Although Greek yoghurt works best, it can also be prepared with natural yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is definitely denser than natural yogurt. It also contains less whey, which makes the labneh thicker and quicker to make. In case of such labneh there also is also no need to strain as much whey, as is the case of labneh made with natural yoghurt.
Preparing this dish is very easy, because all you need to do is combine Greek yoghurt with a bit of salt, pour it on a cloth and leave it in the fridge for several hours. You need to get rid of as much whey as possible from the yoghurt. The less of it you leave, the thicker the consistency will be. Finished labneh should be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. I encourage you to check the labneh recipe below and I wish you a tasty meal.
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Ingredients for labneh.
- 500 g Greek yoghurt
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
How to make labneh.
Mix Greek yoghurt with salt in a bowl. Place a large sieve over a larger bowl or pot. Place a kitchen cloth on it and pour the yoghurt mixed with salt on it. Next, carefully fold the cloth in such a way as to enclose the yoghurt in it. Tie the cloth, then gently squeeze the yoghurt in it with your hands to get rid of the whey. Place the bowl with the strainer on and the yoghurt in the cloth for 24 hours in the fridge. Afterwards, more whey will flow out of the yoghurt, and the yoghurt itself will take the form of cream cheese.
Good to know when making labneh.
Keep the yogurt in the fridge for 24 hours, if you want it to have a slightly thinner consistency. However, if you want it to be thicker, keep it 4-5 hours longer.
Do you like sandwich spreads? If so, try our recipe for Tomato, cashew and basil spread.
