Labneh with za'atar, olive oil and raw vegetables

dairy Israeli and Mediterranean · regular · 20 min, including 20 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.

easy version

Ingredients for two

Method

1. The day before, mix the 450 g plain yoghurt with the salt, ¾ tsp, in a bowl. Line a colander with muslin or a clean, fine tea towel and set it over a mixing bowl. Pour in the yoghurt and fold the cloth over. Drain in the refrigerator for 12 hours for spreadable labneh or 24 hours for firm labneh: the whey will collect in the bowl, leaving 220–230 g dense, tangy fresh cheese. You do not have to discard the whey; use it to loosen pizza dough.
2. On the day, take the drained labneh out of the refrigerator and leave at room temperature while preparing the vegetables, about 10 minutes. Drain the olives.
3. 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.
4. Scrape the labneh from the cloth with a spoon and work it for a few seconds until smooth. It is thicker and tangier than shop-bought labneh and needs no extra salt. Spread in a shallow dish, drawing the back of the spoon outwards from the centre to make a spiral of grooves.
5. Pour the 25 g oil, 2½ tbsp, into the spiral so it pools in the hollows, and cover generously with za'atar. Arrange the olives, tomatoes, cucumber and radishes around it, sprinkle the raw vegetables with sumac and scatter with mint. Refrigerate while warming the bread.
6. Heat the pitas without oil in a very hot frying pan or over a gas flame for 20–30 seconds on each side, until puffed and marked. Keep soft in a tea towel, cut into quarters and serve immediately, with the hot bread alongside the cool labneh.

Homemade labneh drained through muslin: firmer and tangier, it makes all the difference. Drain in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours the day before; this is not included in the stated time. Three 150 g pots yield the 200 g needed, with a little extra for the next day.

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.