Labneh is one of my favorite things in the world. The addiction started at the end of high school, when I dated a Lebanese boy whose family always had this at home. When I headed to college, our relationship ended but Labneh has stayed with me.
My labneh has been a huge hit at parties and events as a dip, served with good bread and crackers, drizzled with olive oil. If you are feeling ambitious, you can pretty it up with olives, dried fruit, nuts and fresh herbs.
This delicious and easy to make "cheese" is really just plain yoghurt that has been strained of its watery part to make it thicker. How long you strain for determines the consistency, and it is totally up to you how solid you want it.
Obviously then, the first challenge is obtaining good plain yoghurt. If you live in the US this is easy since there are billions of brands to choose from, depending on your price range and preference for free range, organic, etc. cows. If you live in China you might be better off making your own yoghurt like I do (refer to earlier post for how to do this!)
Instructions:
Mix about 1 teaspoon of salt into 1 liter (around 4 cups or 32 fluid ounces) of plain yoghurt (this is optional and I often skip it and just add some salt when I want to eat the cheese. If you just want a thicker consistency, e.g. Greek Yoghurt, you won't want to add salt!)
Take a large colander and cover it in a cheese cloth or other appropriate cotton cloth. My Lebanese friends taught me that you don't really need to buy "cheese cloth" per say; as long as the cotton is clean and not too loosely woven, even a pillowcase will do!
Place the covered colander inside a large bowl, where the watery part of the yoghurt can drain into. Try to make the cloth a little taut, so it is not sagging into the colander. This will help the yoghurt to drain. You can do this by tying a string or elastic band around the cloth and colander.
Pour your yoghurt into the cloth, and cover. You can improvise with a lid like I did, or just use plastic wrap.
Place it in the fridge and allow the yoghurt to drain for a few hours. I usually leave mine overnight for around 10-12 hours, which makes it about as thick as cream cheese, though much lighter and easier to spread.
If you leave it for just a few hours, maybe 2-4, you will have a thick (Greek-style) yoghurt that you can use in dips, etc.
If you need to keep it longer than 4-5 days, let it drain longer (around 24 hours) so it is thick enough to be rolled up into little balls. Then you can put those in a jar and cover in olive oil. (I never do this since I go through mine way too fast!)
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| I like mine with some ground black pepper and drizzled with olive oil! |
My labneh has been a huge hit at parties and events as a dip, served with good bread and crackers, drizzled with olive oil. If you are feeling ambitious, you can pretty it up with olives, dried fruit, nuts and fresh herbs.
This delicious and easy to make "cheese" is really just plain yoghurt that has been strained of its watery part to make it thicker. How long you strain for determines the consistency, and it is totally up to you how solid you want it.
Obviously then, the first challenge is obtaining good plain yoghurt. If you live in the US this is easy since there are billions of brands to choose from, depending on your price range and preference for free range, organic, etc. cows. If you live in China you might be better off making your own yoghurt like I do (refer to earlier post for how to do this!)
Instructions:
Mix about 1 teaspoon of salt into 1 liter (around 4 cups or 32 fluid ounces) of plain yoghurt (this is optional and I often skip it and just add some salt when I want to eat the cheese. If you just want a thicker consistency, e.g. Greek Yoghurt, you won't want to add salt!)
Take a large colander and cover it in a cheese cloth or other appropriate cotton cloth. My Lebanese friends taught me that you don't really need to buy "cheese cloth" per say; as long as the cotton is clean and not too loosely woven, even a pillowcase will do!
 |
| Colander |
.JPG) |
| Colander covered in cotton cloth, in large bowl. |
Place the covered colander inside a large bowl, where the watery part of the yoghurt can drain into. Try to make the cloth a little taut, so it is not sagging into the colander. This will help the yoghurt to drain. You can do this by tying a string or elastic band around the cloth and colander.
Pour your yoghurt into the cloth, and cover. You can improvise with a lid like I did, or just use plastic wrap.
.JPG) |
| Yoghurt in cloth, before draining |
.JPG) |
| I have a little saucepan whose lid works well for this! |
Place it in the fridge and allow the yoghurt to drain for a few hours. I usually leave mine overnight for around 10-12 hours, which makes it about as thick as cream cheese, though much lighter and easier to spread.
If you leave it for just a few hours, maybe 2-4, you will have a thick (Greek-style) yoghurt that you can use in dips, etc.
If you need to keep it longer than 4-5 days, let it drain longer (around 24 hours) so it is thick enough to be rolled up into little balls. Then you can put those in a jar and cover in olive oil. (I never do this since I go through mine way too fast!)
.JPG) |
| My labneh, ready to enjoy! |
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