Labneh From 'Ottolenghi'

By
Kate Williams
Kate Itrich-Williams is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Kate Williams
Kate Itrich-Williams is a food writer, editor, and recipe developer who wrote the "Cook the Book" column for Serious Eats.
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Updated October 09, 2018
Ottolenghi: The Cookbook cover

Use this labneh in Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Couscous and Mograbiah with Oven-Dried Tomatoes from their Ottolenghi cookbook. Or serve it as an addition to a cheese plate (or just for an afternoon snack).

Reprinted with permission from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Copyright 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.

Recipe Details

Labneh From 'Ottolenghi'

Active 5 mins
Total 48 hrs
Serves 16 servings
Makes 1 pint

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups (1 liter) natural goat’s Milk yogurt (or full-fat cow’s milk yogurt)

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 to 1 1/4 cups (200 to 300ml) olive oil

  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup (10 to 15g) dried mint

  • Good grind of black pepper

Directions

  1. Line a large bowl with a piece of cheesecloth or other fine cloth. In another bowl, mix the yogurt and salt well. Transfer the yogurt to the cheesecloth, pick up the edges of the cloth, and tie them together well to form a bundle. Hang this over your sink or over a large bowl and leave for 48 hours. By this time the yogurt will have lost most of its liquid and be ready to use as a spread.

  2. To go the whole hog, leave it hanging for a day longer. Remove the cheese from the cloth and place in a sealed container in the fridge. Once it is thoroughly chilled, preferably after 24 hours, roll the cheese into balls, somewhere between the size of an olive and a walnut.

  3. Take a sterilized jar about 2 1/2 cups / 600 ml in capacity. Pour some of the oil inside and gently lay the balls in the oil. Add some more oil and continue with the balls until all the cheese is in the jar and immersed in oil. Seal the jar and keep until needed.

  4. Before serving, scatter the mint and pepper on a flat plate and roll the balls in it.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
157Calories
14gFat
4gCarbs
3gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories157
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g19%
Saturated Fat 4g18%
Cholesterol 8mg3%
Sodium 143mg6%
Total Carbohydrate 4g2%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg5%
Calcium 121mg9%
Iron 1mg4%
Potassium 178mg4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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