Labneh is a yogurt cheese of middle eastern origin and is incredibly easy to make at home. It’s very versatile and can be made both sweet or savoury. Labneh is commonly rolled into small balls, and served with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil as a condiment and marinated in olive oil with herbs and spices to increase the shelf life and introduce more flavour. You have to try our easy homemade labneh recipe.

Ingredients

• Homemade Greek-Style Yoghurt or store bought Greek yoghurt (any amount)

• Salt to taste

• Herbs (optional)

• Light olive oil (optional)

Instructions

DRAINING THE YOGHURT

1. Put the yoghurt into a Cheese Cloth-lined colander and drain for 12-24 hours or until the yoghurt reaches a cream cheese-like consistency. Hang the Cheese Cloth to speed up the draining time

2. Once the yoghurt has thickened mix through salt and herbs (optional) to taste

MARINATING THE LABNEH

1. Roll the labneh into balls and layer it in a sterile glass jar with any chosen herbs and/or spices (peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, chilli flakes, lemon rind et cetera) leaving 1-2cm space at the top of the jar

2. Top the jar up with the oil, ensuring the contents are completely immersed in the oil for safe preservation. The marinated Labneh will keep for approximately six weeks in the fridge, if the jars have been sufficiently sterilised

Notes

Olive oil can go cloudy/solid in the fridge. Remove it from the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.