Cheese doesn’t get much easier than this delicious Middle Eastern strained yoghurt. While soft and creamy, it maintains its sour yoghurt tang. Easy to make at home you can flavour it with just salt and pepper, or add in spices and herbs for extra flavour. We have this delicious recipe from Jane Lovett…
SERVES 4–6
- 400g full-fat Greek cow’s, sheep or goat’s milk yoghurt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Half tsp salt
- Dampen a large piece of muslin (alternatively you can use coffee filter paper or a new J-cloth) and wring out the excess water. Line a non-reactive sieve with the muslin, leaving the excess hanging over the edges, and sit over a mixing bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into the sieve. Gather up the overhanging muslin and twist together so the yoghurt forms a ball. Cover with cling film and leave for a few hours at room temperature, before refrigerating for 12–24 hours, or longer.
- Remove the cheese from the muslin. At this stage you might like to stir in any flavouring, such as garlic, spices, freshly chopped herbs, wild garlic or finely diced vegetables, for example, celery, radish or carrot, or you might decide to leave it plain.
Get ahead…
The longer you leave the labneh to drain (see step 2), the thicker it will be. For a soft, velvety texture for dolloping or spreading, leave for 12–24 hours. To make into balls, ideally leave for 48 hours.
The Get-Ahead Cook by Jane Lovett, published by Apicius Publishing