My Labneh Cheese

Strained yogurt (a.k.a., yogurt cheese, labneh (Arabic: لبنة‎ labnah),Turkish yogurt or Greek yogurt) is yogurt which has been strained (in a cloth or paper bag, or filter) to remove its whey, resulting in a relatively thick consistency (between that of conventional yogurt and cheese) — all while preserving yogurt’s distinctive, sour taste. Yogurt strained through muslin is a traditional food in the Levant, Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and South Asia, where it is often used in cooking (as it is high enough in fat content to avoid curdling at higher temperatures). Such dishes may be cooked or raw, savoury or sweet.

I have been meaning to make a vegan labneh for the last 6 months, but it seems that something always crops up and prevents me from doing so. The recent problem was that I lost my cheese strainer, so instead, I took one of those short cuts that paid off.  All you are going to need is a reasonably good, plain, dairy-free yogurt.  The rest you can prepare in 5 minutes.  Here is some information about Labneh for you : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strained_yoghurt

By the way, I have a version 2 I am working on soon.

 

INGREDIENTS

½ Tbsp nutritional yeast (pulverize in a food processor until a powder is formed)

1½ cups plain unsweetened vegan yoghurt

½ tsp Himalayan salt

1/8 tsp citric acid

a sprinkle of garlic granules

½ tsp xanthan gum (available in the US from here, and in the UK from here)

 

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients (except for the xanthan gum) together in a glass bowl.
Add the xanthan gum a little at a time to avoid over-thickening it, otherwise you will be left with a sludge.
Place in the fridge for half an hour, then remove and drizzle with olive oil.
Serve with hot pita bread, or one of my Middle Eastern Dishes.

 

All recipes and content © Miriam Sorrell mouthwateringvegan.com 2010

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