4 to 6 people
Labneh is a strained yoghurt cheese we hold dear to our heart in the Middle East. The yoghurt is left to strain overnight to allow the water (whey) to drain. I use a common household strainer and kitchen paper towels to prepare my Labneh. Its fuss free and easy. Once it has thickened, it’s transferred into a bowl, drizzled with the very best extra virgin olive oil and served with fresh vegetables, watermelon, fresh herbs and fresh bread.
My grandmother used to strain her Labneh extra well and roll small portions into balls and preserve them in jars covered in olive oil. This ensured that her family had access to dairy products when fresh produce was unavailable. In this day and age there is no real need to preserve our Labneh but I do love doing it as it reminds me of my grandmothers pantry.
I love spreading it on my toast, with olives and fresh herbs on the side.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo of Natural Greek Yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Method
- You will need a deep mixing bowl to help prop up the strainer
- Place a large size fine strainer over the mixing bowl and cover the mesh of the strainer with kitchen paper towels so that the towel overhangs, the idea is that you don’t want to yoghurt to make any contact with the metal strainer.
- Add a teaspoon of salt to the yoghurt and mix well
- Pour the yoghurt into the paper towel lined strainer ensuring there is space between the bottom of the strainer and the bowl
- you don’t want the bottom of the strainer to touch the bottom of the bowl because your yoghurt will not drain properly.
- Cover using cling wrap or a tea towel and place in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning you will see the whey and water has drained into the bowl leaving a thick creamy soft yoghurt cheese.
- Carefully lift the strainer out of the bowl making sure you don’t make contact with the liquid and turn it over into a serving bowl, gently peeling away the paper towels.
- Make a lovely moat impression in the Labneh and drizzle the very best extra virgin olive oil.
Tips
- You can leave this yoghurt to strain outside of the fridge on your kitchen bench, however, for pregnant women and children I always prefer to strain my yoghurt in the fridge.
