Labneh
Quantity: 1 liter (about 1 quart)
Labneh, which means yoghurt in Arabic, is a traditional food in the Middle East. It is also known as Laban to American-Lebanese. Its high content of fat makes it ideal for cooking - it will not curdle at high temperatures.
It can also be served on its own as an appetizer - sprinkled with some olive oil and herbs and accompanied by some pita bread - a real delight! A spoon or two of Labneh is a great company to sweet and savory main dishes. Its mild, soothing taste provides for a pleasant contrast.
A popular culinary tradition in the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, many Balkan countries, Georgia and Armenia is the Mezze (Greek: mezethes, Turkish: meze, Arabic: muqabbilat). The word and many of the dishes are of Persian origin, where "maze" means "snack". It is the eastern Mediterranean version of the Spanish "tapas", a selection of small dishes taken as an appetizer or, if served in a wide variety, as a whole meal.
If you do not have access to Labneh, you can easily make your own:
- Add salt to Greek yoghurt, or European-style thick yoghurt and whisk it to a smooth consistency. Use about 1 teasp. salt for 1 liter (1 quart) yogurt.
- Put a sterile cloth in a strainer over a large pot and pour in the salted yogurt.
- Let the whey strain through the cloth for about 24 hours. Make sure the pot is deep enough so the whey does not reach the bottom of the strainer. A more efficient way is to tie up the four corners of the cloth and suspend it over the pot. The weight of the yogurt will extract the whey much better.
- Remove the cloth and - voilà - there is the Labneh!
The Labneh should be consumed within a week after preparation.