Labneh

Labneh is an Arabic cheese made by draining yoghurt so that it loses most of its liquid: the longer it’s left to drain, the drier and firmer it becomes. You can either have it as it is, to cook with or just to spread on toast drizzled with olive and za’tar, or else you can shape it into balls, for a pre-dinner snack.

Making labneh is one of those things which can feel like a step too far until you actually get around to doing it and realise how simple it is. It honestly take more effort to hang our your washing than it does to hang up your yoghurt.

Playing around: Use either a combination of goat’s (or sheep’s or ewe’s) yoghurt and Greek-style yoghurt or just stick to Greekstyle. The combination option has a bit more of a tang, which we like, but they both work very well.

Keeping notes: Once covered with oil, labneh keeps in the fridge for up to 2 months. Without the oil it keeps for up to 2 weeks.

900g Greek-style yoghurt (or a combination of 450g goat’s yoghurt and 450g Greek-style yoghurt)

Salt

Olive oil, to seal

Line a deep bowl with a piece of cheesecloth or muslin (a clean J-cloth is also fine as an alternative) and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the yoghurt(s) with 1 teaspoon of salt. Pour into the cloth-lined bowl, then bring the edges of the cloth together and wrap tightly to form a bundle. Tie firmly with a piece of string. Hang the bundle over a bowl (or attached to the handle of a tall jug so the bundle can hang free – and drop inside the jug) and leave in the fridge for up to 24-36 hours, until much of the liquid is lost and the yoghurt is thick and fairly dry.

Another method is to put the bundle into a sieve placed over a bowl, with the weight of a plate, for example, or a couple of tins, sitting on top: this weight speeds up the draining process. Transfer the labneh to an airtight sterilised container or jar: just pour over enough olive oil so the labneh is covered and sealed. 900g Greek-style yoghurt (or a combination of 450g goat’s yoghurt and 450g Greek-style yoghurt)

about 500ml olive oil

3 sprigs of thyme or oregano, or a mixture of both 1½ tbsp chilli flakes (enough to coat 10 balls)

2½ tbsp za’atar (enough to coat 10 balls)

Salt

To make the labneh, follow the instructions in the previous recipe up to the point before it gets transferred to an airtight sterilised container. Then, with lightly oiled hands, spoon a small amount – about 20g – of the labneh into the palm of one hand. Roll it around to shape it into a 3cm-wide ball, and transfer it to a tray lined with a damp (but clean) J-cloth. Continue with the remaining labneh until all the balls are rolled. Transfer to the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight) to firm up.

Half fill a jar (large enough to fit all the rolled labneh: about

10cm wide and 12cm high) or airtight container with olive oil and drop in the balls. Top with more oil, if necessary – you want the balls to be completely covered with oil – and add the thyme or oregano. Seal the jar and store in the fridge.

When ready to coat – you can do this up to a day before serving – remove the jar from the fridge and bring to room temperature, so that the oil becomes unset. Lift the balls out of the oil and roll them in the chilli flakes or za’atar: an easy way to do this is to spread your chosen coating on a plate, place a few balls at a time on top and shake the plate: the balls will be coated in seconds. If not eating at once, return them to the fridge on a plate (but not in the oil). Bring back to room temperature before serving: you don’t want them to be fridge-cold.