Labneh with Roasted Tomatoes

Name: Labneh with Roasted Tomatoes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: For Labneh; 450 grams full-fat yogurt; ¾ teaspoons salt; 1 grated garlic clove; ½ teaspoon dried mint; Olive oil to drizzle; Za’atar for serving (optional)

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Labneh with Roasted Tomatoes

Labneh with Roasted Tomatoes is a delicious recipe of homemade labneh topped with tangy, sweet roasted tomatoes and olive oil. It is a perfect recipe for serving as an appetizer and part of a mezze platter!

Homemade labneh is incredibly easy to make and perfect for using as a spread or turning into a creamy dip. This labneh recipe combines the homemade labneh with roasted tomatoes, olive oil, and pomegranate molasses (optional). This combination yields a decadent, creamy, and rich mezze.I often make labneh at home usually accompany it with saksuka, cacik, muhammara, batata harra, pide ekmek, zaatar man’oushe or feta man’oushe.

There is something satisfying and comforting about this recipe. I love the smell of roasting tomatoes at home, and it is simply a scrumptious mezze which can be enjoyed with any type of bread or vegetable sticks.

Ingredients

For Labneh
450 grams full-fat yogurt
¾ teaspoons salt
1 grated garlic clove
½ teaspoon dried mint
Olive oil to drizzle
Za’atar for serving (optional)

For Roasting Tomatoes
150 gm cherry/small tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
½ teaspoon za’atar
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses

For Assembling
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped mint

Directions

Step-1

Mix together the yogurt and salt in a bowl.

Line a sieve with a piece of muslin or cheesecloth (large enough to hang over the sides) and place the sieve over a bowl. Gently transfer the salted yogurt to the muslin lined sieve and bring the ends of the muslin together. Tie the ends together using a string. The whey will begin to leak out almost immediately. (I sometimes hang it from the tap over my kitchen sink with the bowl underneath for 5-6 hours) and then transfer the bowl to the fridge for 5-6 hours. Every once in a while, I give the tied cloth a little squeeze to accelerate the draining of the whey, but this isn’t necessary. Allow the yoghurt to drain overnight, either in the fridge or over the sink. You can also place some heavy weights on the muslin to drain the whey. Let the yogurt drain for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

Step-2

Preheat oven to 200C/Fan160/Gas 6.

Place the tomatoes in a baking tray and drizzle the olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, za’atar and pomegranate molasses and toss.

Roast the tomatoes for 8-10 minutes or until just soft. Take them out and keep them aside to cool.

Step-3

After draining the yogurt for at least 12 hours, discard the collected whey. The remaining yogurt should be smooth and creamy, like cream cheese. Add the garlic, and dried mint and mix.

Spread it on a meze plate and drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil (optional) and gently place the roasted tomatoes on top alongside mint.

Serve as part of a meze.

Tips & Variations

You can keep Labneh in the refrigerator in an airtight jar for up to 5 days, sealed with a thin layer of olive oil on top.
You can also preserve the labneh by rolling it into small balls and immersing them in olive oil in an airtight jar for up to a couple of months in the fridge.
You can use any full-fat yogurt. I prefer not to use Greek Yogurt for this recipe.
The time required for straining the yogurt depends on the type and the thickness of the yogurt used. Saying that, usually 12-24 hours is enough to drain all the whey. Once totally drained 1 cup yogurt should yield ½ cup labneh.
You can serve labneh drizzled with olive oil or garnish with crushed nuts/ seeds (walnut, pistachio, pumpkin seeds), sprinkle dried herbs
(sumac, oregano etc), add fresh herbs (mint leaves, dill, coriander, parsley, etc), or pomegranate seeds, or lemon zest.
For a sweet version you could try a topping like grilled peaches or figs and honey/maple.