It’s a good time of year – food, drink and people. One of my small efforts for a Christmas lunch was this labneh from a recipe by Dennis Mifsud’s of Wino’s Margaret River below – it’s from issue 12. If you just hang around for a bit, you can read the recipe below the fold.
But first, thanks for all your support in 2008. Whether you’re a subscriber, a reader, an advertiser, someone who gave up their time so we could do a story on you, a writer, a photographer, a chef, you did proofreading, dropped off mags, did the accounts, told a friend about us or bought a subscription as a gift, gave us a subscription prize, told us about someone doing something interesting, sent us stuff, invited us somewhere or just generally made 2008 a great year of putting out a local food magazine. All the best to you and the ones you love.
Labneh with Fresh Herb Salad and Garlic Chips
Dennis Mifsud
The thickness of the labneh will depend on how long you leave it to hang. I prefer a thicker labneh, which can be achieved over three days of hanging in muslin.
The labneh can be eaten after hanging; drizzled with olive oil, fresh herbs and black pepper. It can also be rolled into balls and dried in fridge for two more days to firm them up some more. These balls can then be rolled in sumac.
YOGHURT
2 litres full cream milk
250 ml double cream
150 ml live yoghurt
Bring milk to boil, stirring occasionally to stop the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Turn down the heat and simmer until reduced by about a third, making sure to keep stirring at regular intervals. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly then whisk in cream and allow to cool until it feels as warm as blood temperature. Then add the live yoghurt and stir.
Place in a flat sterilized terracotta bowl —The base of a pot plant holder is ideal and can be bought at any garden nursery — cover with cling film and keep somewhere warm for around eight hours.
LABNEH
1 kg yoghurt
1 tsp crushed sea salt
Mix the salt with the yoghurt. Line a bowl with a muslin cloth or linen and spoon in the salted yoghurt.
Pull up the sides of the cloth, tie with string and hang overnight over a suitable space like a sink or in a fridge with a bowl underneath to catch the whey.
Unwrap the labneh and discard cloth.
Place in a jar and cover with olive oil, garlic and herbs for later use. They will keep for up to six weeks in a sterilized jar.
FRESH HERB SALAD
Wash an assortment of curly leaf lettuces, dry the leaves and drizzle them with your favourite dressing and sprinkle them with garlic chips.
GARLIC CHIPS
1 bulb of garlic, peeled and each sliced thinly.
Blanch the sliced garlic in milk until tender. Strain, cool and dry on absorbent paper then shallow fry in olive oil until crisp without burning the oil.
