Labneh with za'atar, olive oil and raw vegetables

dairy Israeli and Mediterranean · very easy · 20 min, including 15 hands-on

The mezze of the Levant and Israeli breakfasts: thick labneh spread in a spiral in a shallow dish, flooded with fruity olive oil under a layer of za'atar, with cracked olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, mint and warm pitas for mopping up.

regular version

Ingredients for two

Method

1. Take the labneh out of the refrigerator and leave at room temperature while preparing the vegetables, about 10 minutes. Drain the olives.
2. Wash and dry the cucumber, radishes, tomatoes and mint. Cut the cucumber into 5 cm sticks, the radishes into quarters or thick rounds, and halve the cherry tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of fleur de sel and drizzle with 5 g oil, ½ tbsp. Keep the small mint leaves whole and tear the larger ones. The vegetables should stay cold and crisp.
3. Stir the labneh gently with a spoon until smooth, without prolonged whisking: it should stay thick, leaving a clear trail when a spoon is drawn through it. Taste and add a pinch of fleur de sel only if it is mild. Spread in a shallow serving dish for the centre of the table, drawing the back of the spoon outwards from the centre to make a spiral of grooves. Alternatively, use the same motion to divide it between two small plates.
4. Pour the 25 g oil, 2½ tbsp, into the spiral: it should collect in the hollows and form small pools. Cover generously with za'atar in a layer that almost hides the labneh. Arrange the olives, tomatoes, cucumber and radishes around it, sprinkle the raw vegetables with sumac and scatter with mint. Refrigerate while warming the bread.
5. Heat the pitas without oil in a very hot 24 cm frying pan or directly over the gas flame for 20–30 seconds on each side, until puffed and marked with brown patches. Immediately wrap in a tea towel to keep them soft, cut into quarters just before serving and place beside the dish. Dip each piece of hot bread into the oil and za'atar with the cool labneh.

On your plate

Cooking tips

With shop-bought labneh, this starter takes 20 minutes; for homemade labneh, the normal method, start draining the yoghurt the day before. Labneh with 5% fat and shop-bought za'atar already contain salt: taste and add a pinch of fleur de sel only if the labneh is mild. Choose a fruity, green olive oil, as you will taste it uncooked. The vegetables can be prepared ahead and kept chilled, but add the oil and za'atar at the last moment and warm the pitas last. This starter contains dairy; serve it with a pareve or dairy dinner, particularly mejadra, never with a chicken or meat dish or variation.

Equipment : shallow serving dish for the centre of the table, or two small plates, 24 cm frying pan, or a gas flame, for the pitas, clean tea towel to keep the pitas soft, spoon, knife, for the normal method: colander, muslin or a fine tea towel, mixing bowl

Levantine mezze served for breakfast and as a starter in Israel, labaneh be-zayit ve-za'atar. Homemade labneh strained through muslin is the family version.