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labneh | strained yogurt

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Labneh is a delicious Middle Eastern soft, fresh cheese that can be eaten for breakfast, a snack, or as part of a meze spread. It has a smooth consistency and a slightly sour, subtly sweet flavor. In Lebanon and Syria, my grandmother’s family would make their own labneh at home with mesta, (that is, homemade yogurt).

In Beirut, they would buy milk in bottles at the market, but when they moved back to Syria, they bought a cow and used her milk. My grandmother’s mother, Yemmah Sourma, and her older sister, Masy, would milk the cow, then Yemmah Sourma would make mesta, put the fermented mesta in a cloth, tie the cloth together, and let all of the whey drain away until it reached the perfect consistency. They would save the whey to make booshala, a yogurt and swiss chard soup.

how to make the absolute best labneh ever

These days, we most often buy labneh at Middle Eastern markets, since there are lots of perfectly good brands available. Look for one with fewer additives—the best labneh is just dairy (some combination of milk, cream, whey) and salt (sometimes with a little pectin).

While making labneh at home is a really fun project, I’ve never really found it totally worthwhile to make labneh from store-bought yogurt, since commercial labneh is already so tasty and convenient.

But all that recently changed when my friend, Mary, told me how phenomenal it is when it’s made from homemade yogurt. And it’s true—when it comes to labneh made from homemade yogurt, it’s hard to find anything better. So now I’ve become the kind of person who either buys ready-made labneh or goes all-in and makes it all the way from the beginning of the process, with whole milk, which I turn into yogurt overnight and then strain the next night until it is so perfect, you can’t help but eat the whole thing with a spoon straight from the refrigerator (no olive oil, spices, or pita bread required).

how to make very good labneh from store-bought yogurt

If you want to make labneh from store-bought yogurt, maybe because you can’t find labneh near you, or maybe because you want a more low-key cooking adventure, some yogurts work better than others.

I used to think Greek yogurt was best, since it’s already halfway there. But there’s something about the way it’s been processed that just doesn’t work out quite right (maybe since it’s strained by big mechanical centrifuges). After having my friends do a blind-tasting of a few different homemade labnehs, everyone determined that the one made from Greek yogurt was the least favorite of the group.

I’ve found that starting with plain-old unstrained yogurt works better than starting with Greek yogurt. The most important thing is to find one that’s been made from whole milk. I’ve made labneh with fat-free yogurt, but it’s definitely not the same (gritty, sour, and pasty) and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re already accustomed to the tastes and textures unique to a totally fat-free diet.

how to use labneh

Labneh is lovely spread thinly on a plate and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. You can top it with whatever herbs and spices you’d like—mint (especially dried), za’atar, sumac, or paprika each works great. Check out the archives for a full list of my recipes featuring labneh, or check out a few of my favorites, listed below:

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labneh | strained yogurt

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  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 12 hours
  • Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 cups plain unstrained yogurt, either homemade or store-bought
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 pitcher or other tall container to catch the whey
  • A long sheet of cheesecloth
  • For serving (optional): salt, za’atar (or another spice blend), and extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Line a medium-sized bowl (approximately 1 quart) with several layers of cheesecloth. Make sure that the cheesecloth square is large enough to tie the corners around 1 quart of yogurt.
  2. Spoon the yogurt into the center of the cheesecloth-covered bowl, place the wooden spoon over the top then wrap the cheesecloth edges over the top, tying them around the wooden spoon.
  3. Place the ball inside the pitcher, with the wooden spoon allowing it to hang from the top. This will keep it away from the pooling whey, so that it can strain as it hangs.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap, give the fridge a sniff check to make sure there are no funky smells, and strain the labneh in the fridge for about 6-12 hours, depending on the consistency you want. It will be more like Greek yogurt after 6 hours and much firmer after 12. *
  5. To serve, spread thinly on a plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and spices.

Notes

* Don’t be surprised if the labneh loses a couple cups of whey during the straining process. You might need to empty the pitcher if the whey-line starts to get too close to the ball. Also don’t be surprised if the trickle of whey slows down dramatically after the first couple hours. It will lose most of its whey in the first 6 hours.

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assyrian egg rolls | burek

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Whenever someone immigrates, gets engaged or married, or visits from out of town, my grandmother celebrates the occasion by frying up a big plate of burek, which she usually serves unceremoniously on a plate lined with paper towels, since everyone is always lurking around the stove waiting for her to lift them out of the deep fryer. Burek doesn’t need to be served on fine china, dressed up with a fancy presentation, or served with a clever assortment of dipping sauces in order to be celebratory. It’s just inherently so! And if you make these for your next party, they will be the first thing to go (seriously, even if you triple the recipe), so make sure you save yourself a few in the back of the refrigerator, because they’re also fabulous left over (it’s a very cold-leftover-pizza experience).

This recipe is totally flexible—you can add more cheese, parsley, a clove or two of garlic, or a few pinches of allspice. My family loves to eat burek with salsa or Sriracha, but it’s also delicious just on its own. You can even make a special vegetarian version, with mushrooms instead of beef; I’ve included a note with the recipe about how to make this substitution. There are other vegetarian versions made with mostly cheese. Assyrian chef Lana Shlimon, who cooks Lebanese and Iraqi Assyrian food, recommends mixing a combination of mild and briny cheeses, for instance feta and mozzarella.

If you’d like to make your burek ahead of time, you can either roll them up the night before and then fry them at the last minute, or fry them earlier in the day and then later crisp them up in the oven before serving.

If you’re new to deep frying, don’t be intimidated! The thing is, it’s very easy if you know a few tricks. Just make sure to set up a safe deep fry station and to keep the heat at a constant temperature. If you do both, deep frying is a piece of cake. The easiest way to keep a constant temperature is to buy an inexpensive deep fry thermometer so that you can easily monitor and adjust the heat. As long as you keep it around 350°, the oil shouldn’t sputter or smoke. But if you don’t have a thermometer and need burek now, there are a few low tech workarounds. To keep your fry station safe, find a heavy pot, make sure you have several inches of space above the oil line so that it doesn’t bubble over, and keep the pot toward the back of the stove.

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assyrian egg rolls | burek

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  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: approximately 20 rolls

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
  • 1 small onion (or half of a large onion), minced
  • 1 pound sirloin, minced finely into very small pieces (or ground) *
  • 1 cup loosely packed shredded mozzarella (not fresh mozzarella) *
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 package large wonton wrappers (1 pound / 20 to 21 wontons)
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl
  • 1 to 2 quarts oil for deep frying (e.g., peanut, canola, olive oil, but not extra virgin)

Instructions

  1. Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil has heated for a minute or two, add the minced onion and cook until it softens and becomes translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. Once the minced onion has softened, turn the heat to medium-high and push the onion to the sides of the pan.
  3. Add the other tablespoon of neutral oil to the center of the pan and add the minced beef * to the center of the pan. Spread it out evenly and then let it sit there for about a minute while you season it with salt and pepper.
  4. After the beef has sat in the center for a minute, mix up the beef, trying not to disturb the onions, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan, and let it sit for another minute or two. Continue this pattern until it has browned nicely and any pooling liquid has been cooked off, about 6-7 minutes.
  5. Mix together the onions and the beef if they haven’t already mixed together.
  6. Take the beef and onions off the heat and let them cool (about 10 minutes).
  7. Stir in the mozzarella, parsley, and any additional salt and pepper.
  8. Set up a safe fry station on the stove or in a dedicated deep fryer. Turn the heat to medium so that the oil slowly rises to 350° F and keep an eye on it while you work.
  9. Wrap the burek: Place one wrapper on a cutting board.
  10. Put a couple spoon-fulls of the filling (approximately 2 tablespoons—pace yourself for 20 rolls) in the center of the wrapper in a diagonal line, from corner to corner, rather than side to side. Leave a large border all the way around the filling so that you can wrap it up.
  11. Place the wrapper so that the filling looks horizontal from your perspective and fold over the two side corners so that they meet in the middle. Then fold the triangle facing you over the top, and then roll everything tightly into a cylinder away from yourself. Make sure you roll them snugly, so that they don’t hold in big pockets of air.
  12. To seal the roll: raise the loose wonton flap, wet your fingers liberally, brush water all over the triangular wonton flap, and roll it back over until it sticks.
  13. Repeat with the remaining 19 or 20 rolls.
  14. Fry the burek: Once the oil has reached 350° F, add a few rolls at a time and fry for about 5 minutes, until golden-brown. Flip the burek over if they aren’t tumbling around on their own. Work in batches, don’t crowd the oil, and adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a temperature of 350° F.
  15. Once golden brown, remove the burek with a slotted spoon or spider and cool on a couple layers of paper towels.

Notes

* To make the vegetarian version, use 1 pound finely chopped mushrooms instead of minced beef and add an extra 1/2 cup of cheese. You’ll need to cook the mushrooms until they’ve given up their liquid and have begun to brown.

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