Labneh from Scratch: Strained Yoghurt, Olive Oil, Za'atar

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Labneh is one of those small kitchen miracles that feels like cheating. You take a tub of yoghurt, add salt, hang it in a cloth in the fridge overnight, and wake up to something thick, tangy and spreadable that tastes far more luxurious than the work involved. Spread it in a bowl, swirl the surface, pour on good olive oil and a generous scatter of za’atar, and you have a centrepiece for a mezze table or the best thing to put on toast all week. My one small twist is a little lemon zest stirred in before straining, which sharpens the freshness beautifully.

Labneh with Za'atar, Olive Oil, and Warm Flatbread

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:00:00 +0000

If you have ever wished yogurt could be a meal rather than a side note, labneh is the answer, and it is almost embarrassingly easy. You salt some good yogurt, hang it in a cloth overnight, and the next morning the whey has drained away to leave something thick, tangy and rich, halfway between yogurt and soft cheese. Spread it on a plate, flood it with olive oil and snow it with za’atar, and you have one of the great breakfasts of the Levant. My one quiet twist is grating a tiny bit of raw garlic into the yogurt before it strains, so the whole thing carries a low savoury hum that plays off the lemony za’atar. Make the flatbreads to scoop it and you will not miss anything else on the table.

Dairy - Tag - vo.rs

Labneh from Scratch: Strained Yoghurt, Olive Oil, Za'atar

Labneh with Za'atar, Olive Oil, and Warm Flatbread