Labneh with Za'atar

What to Put on the Table With Labneh with Za'atar

• Warm flatbread and raw vegetables
• A wider mezze spread
• Mint tea

How to Make Labneh with Za'atar

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1. Stir the salt thoroughly through the yoghurt.

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2. Line a sieve with two layers of muslin or a clean thin tea towel and set it over a deep bowl, leaving plenty of space beneath.

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3. Tip in the yoghurt, gather the cloth over the top, and tie it or weigh it down with a small plate.

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4. Refrigerate 12 to 24 hours. For a spreadable dip, 12 hours is right; for something firm enough to roll, go to 36.

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5. A surprising volume of yellowish whey will collect below. Keep it for bread doughs, marinades or smoothies.

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6. Scrape the labneh out of the cloth into a bowl and beat it briefly until smooth.

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7. Spread it onto a shallow plate with the back of a spoon, making broad swirls and a well in the middle.

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8. Pour the olive oil into the well so it pools, then scatter over za'atar, sumac, mint and pine nuts.

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9. For labneh balls, roll 36-hour labneh into walnut-sized spheres with oiled hands, pack into a sterilised jar, cover completely with olive oil and add dried herbs. Keep the jar in the fridge.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Full-fat yoghurt only. Low-fat versions strain to a chalky, grainy paste.

Do not throw the whey away. It is excellent in bread and pancake batters.

Labneh balls under oil are for the week they are made, not for the cupboard: keep them in the fridge and eat them within 4 days.

Ingredient Swaps

• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried mint at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Storing and Reheating

Refrigerate up to 1 week, covered. Balls under olive oil with dried herbs keep 4 days in the fridge: herbs held in oil can carry botulism, and the oil does not stop it. It does not freeze.

Labneh with Za'atar: Your Questions Answered

What's in a Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

Gluten-free when served without the warm flatbread.

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