I made some creamy lemon labneh with a spoonful of lemon puree at the weekend and served it up with honey, thyme and toasted bread. It was delicious!
Labneh (also known as labnah or labne) is tangy, thick and creamy, essentially a yoghurt cheese. It is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine that can be served at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Like Greek yoghurt, it’s made by straining yoghurt until it loses most of its liquid, known as whey. The longer you strain it, the thicker it will become. Don’t throw out the whey. It’s a great addition to smoothies.
Cheeses made from strained yoghurt have been eaten in the Levant (a region comprising modern day Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Israel) for thousands of years. It was an important source of protein for ancient nomadic Bedouin tribes. Strained yoghurt is popular in many countries around the world. Just to name a few, the Lebanese make a goat’s milk labne, called anbariz. In the Indian subcontinent, dahi is an unstrained yoghurt, very rich in fat, and predominantly made from water buffalo’s milk. It is also popular in Denmark, where a strained yoghurt called ymer is sometimes served with breadcrumbs and sugar, or with muesli and maple syrup. http://ww.cheesewiki.com/labneh
I made sandwiches for lunch today with a thick smear of my lemon labneh, smoked salmon and cucumber slices. I’ll be having them again.
Best wishes,
Amanda
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Lemon Labneh
a smooth and tangy creamy yoghurt cheese, serve with thyme and honey on bread toasts
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp lemon puree
Lemon Puree
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Line a sieve with a muslin cloth and suspend it over a bowl.
- Mix the lemon puree into the yoghurt and pour it onto the muslin cloth.
- Tie the muslin cloth around a wooden spoon so that it rests suspended in the seive above the bowl. This will allow the whey to drain through.
- Store it in the fridge for 24 hours, then scrape the labneh out of the cloth and store in a glass jar in the fridge.
- Save the whey for smoothes, or for baking recipes that use water or even milk.
Lemon Puree
- Boil a lemon in a small saucepan of water for about 20 minutes.
- When cool enough to handle, chop the lemon coarsely and blend it with 2 tbsp water. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
The lemon labneh will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
So simple and lovely !
Anne, glad you like it! Best wishes, Amanda