Labneh also spelled labne, is a Middle Eastern (and particularly Lebanese) strained yogurt. It is a very thick, creamy yogurt meze – often described as a ‘yogurt cheese’ due to its thick consistency of cream cheese. However, in comparison to cream cheese, labneh is sharper and has citrusy notes as it is made with plain natural yogurt.
If you have natural yogurt at home – whether it is homemade yogurt or supermarket yogurt—you can make this delicious Lebanese Meze at home. You can use any type of full-fat yogurt to make labneh—sheep’s milk will be tangier and cow’s milk creamier. The only type of yogurt to avoid is set Greek yogurt, which does not drain properly hence the labneh is not as thick. It is super simple recipe which takes minutes to prepare.
I often make labneh at home to accompany other meze like saksuka, cacik, plain houmous, roasted aubergine houmous, muhammara, batata harra or just serve it as a dip with tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and bread. I also use it like feta in salads or dotted over roast vegetables. To make Labneh you need to hang the yogurt in muslin until it is as thick as cream cheese. It has slightly tangy, salty flavour reminiscent of feta. If you want to keep it for longer than a week, you can make it into balls and cover these with olive oil, which will keep happily in the fridge for a couple of months.
This simple, easy and delicious recipe is definitely worth a try as it so versatile and can be enjoyed in different ways.
