EASY PLEASY LABNEH BALLS
The shutters of Patiki came down for the last time (this year) on Sunday evening at the end of a real and true day of sunshine and togetherness. Wave after wave of people spilled in to be fed, brief pauses to come up for air before the next expectant tummies came to sit beside the sea with us.
It’s a pretty electric feeling to look out across the pass at the hum of happy humans eating together in the Autumn sunshine, the peaceful roar of the kitchen behind me, all the busy beauty being lovingly prepared. To stop for a moment and feel how lucky we all are to be here, those working and those dining, just to be sharing a moment of respite in the sea breeze.
In wild times we have had the solace of strangers coming to eat at our tables and the privileged distraction of each morning coming together in our little kitchen to prepare food for whoever comes to visit that day. I’m all-awash with excitement for my new found freedom and early onset nostalgia for the season we’ve just closed the doors on.
Our fridges are a bit bulging still with surplus preserves that will sustain us through winter, pots of Summer to dip into: pickles for puckering winter meat, jams to sweeten the cold. This morning I untied the last udder of labneh hanging in the fridge, untouched by the final service and prime for the potting. Labneh is the work of a few moments in time, a teaspoon of salt mixed into a tub of natural yogurt, poured into a cloth and hung (like an udder) for about 24+ hours.
The yogurt becomes thick and sturdy, after a good 48 hours it’s the texture of soft clay and can be rolled into little ping pong balls, next rolled in dry herbs or spices (any that capture your imagination) and gently dropped into a jar then filled with olive oil to seal in. They will keep happily for weeks in your fridge, perfectly preserved by the olive oil and ready to be called on when you arrive home starving or friends come to lazily sip wine and munch little spoils of past labours in the form of perky little cheese balls and a fresh loaf of bread.
I did a little ‘how to’ video earlier this year which is in my Instagram Highlights under ‘labneh’ but here is a rough recipe, take whatever you like from it and make it your own……Yehaaaa
INGREDIENTS
1k tub of natural whole fat yogurt
0.5 tsp sea salt
1 cup of za’atar spice
Mix the yogurt and salt together
Line a bowl with a tea towel and pour the yogurt mixture into the bowl
Tie the two diagonally opposing corners of the towel in a simple knot, then the other opposing corners so you seal the mixture in the tea towel and make a kind of udder
Hang the yogurt (by the knots) for a couple of days in your fridge or a cool corner of your house with a bowl below to catch the drips.
In this time the water content will drip through the cloth leaving you with a very thick clay like cheese. Creamy creamy delight.
Make little ping pong sized balls of labneh by rolling them between your palms
Scatter a clean plate in za’atar or dry herbs (I love the combination of thyme and black pepper) and roll the little cheese balls around to coat them.
Carefully put the rolled balls in a jar and pour over plenty of olive oil to seal them in its preserving waters.
They will keep for weeks and weeks in your fridge so long as the oil covers their little faces
Well done you done done it…….
