Labneh

Not quvite kvass

A little over ten years ago I got married. I never thought I would, and whether I did or did not didn’t overly bother me. But as it turned out I met a rather nice chap from America, via Newport in Wales, and he asked so I said yes. So it happened, this old bird got gussied up and was walked down a makeshift aisle arm in arm with my beautiful son, at the Folk House in Bristol (where my cafe was), to the glorious sound of Etta James singing ‘At Last’.

The muslin in action (photo by Heidi Alexander)

The reason I mention this here in this post ostensibly about labneh and kvass and how to make it, what it tastes like, a recipe and so on is that in order to decorate the hall for the wedding I bought 100m of white muslin. This was draped in such a way as to make a tented effect, with fairy lights behind it. It was very pretty, although I wished at the time I had bought another 100m for extra opulence.

Afterwards I was left with 100m of chopped up muslin. A friend borrowed it all for the same use, then I used the returned lengths to make curtains that waft in the breeze, and some to mop up messes and now, as the pile has diminished to almost nothing, I have cut up the last pieces and used one of them to make labneh with. I am not sure anyone, anywhere has got more or better use out of 100m of muslin.

So, to the point. The book I have chosen to choose (that rolls rather nicely) a recipe from, as mentioned in my previous post, is Food for a Happy Gut - recipes to calm, nourish and heal, by Naomi Devlin. I chose to make beetroot kvass. I am interested in all things fermented these days and make my own sauerkraut and occasionally kimchi. Despite workshops and encouragement from Caroline Gilmartin I have yet to successfully make kombucha which is an ultimate goal as my desire to have an alternative to the alcoholic fermented stuff that isn’t too sweet gets stronger. So I thought kvass would be good entry level stuff as it really could not be simpler to make.

Naomi’s recipe calls for natural live yoghurt whey or water kefir, which Caroline’s did not. Immediately intrigued I wanted to make it with whey. So, where to get whey? See labneh recipe. Oooh, labneh, lovely cream cheese, full of probiotics and silkiness. Go to labneh recipe.

Make labneh :

1 kg Greek style yoghurt

2 tsp fine sea salt

large square of muslin

Stir the salt into the yoghurt and put the mix into a bowl lined with the very clean muslin. Take each corner of the muslin and tie them together. If you are lucky enough to have a plate rack at exactly the right height tie the ends on this so the muslin is hanging above the bowl with lots of room for the whey to drip into it. If you don’t you will need to rig something up involving wooden spoons balanced between two chairs or sturdy boxes placed on the worktop, cunningly disguised so the cats don’t think it’s dinner. I feel excessively lucky to have a handy plate rack.

Hang the cheese for 24 hours (and if you do have cats make sure to build a den around it overnight to thwart said cat’s curiosity).

Remove the cheese from the muslin and either simply put the it in an airtight container and use like cream cheese, or make it into little balls for a mezze dish, rolled in toasted seeds or a spice mix. Pour the whey into a sterilised jar and refrigerate.

OR. Go one step further and preserve most of it in tiny little cheese balls. The cheese balls I am familiar with (not on a regular basis I must add) are those dayglo puffs, full of air and chemicals that leave you with an orange moustache and a slightly nauseous feeling. These are not they. These were rolled with my own hands and put into a jar, covered in olive oil with some lemon peel, lemon thyme and bay leaves. The absolute opposite of the puffs.

I kept a little back to try out on the husband (who had not noticed the many uses of the muslin over the years) and frankly because I couldn’t wait for the preserved version to do its thing. I made toast, rubbed it with garlic, spread the cheese on it and added some chopped last-of-the-summer tomatoes, a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Heavens to Betsy that was good.

To preserve your labneh:

Roll it into little balls about the size of walnut, oiling your hands to make this easier. Put the balls into a sterilised jar with a good seal. Add sliced peel/zest of one lemon, sprig of lemon thyme (or any thyme or oregano), a couple of bay leaves and enough good olive oil to cover well. Seal and store in the fridge for up to two months, being careful to use clean utensils to get the balls out so as not to introduce bacteria.

I have done all this and not I am now the proud owner of jar of labneh balls. I don’t think they last anywhere near two months, especially with family visiting this weekend - maybe they will make it until Sunday.

Now I know you are all dying to know what happened to the whey and when I am going to make Kvass. The answer is it’s still in the fridge and tomorrow respectively. When I will write it up is another matter.

This book is a wonder and I heartily recommend it anyone who has a bit of a dodgy tummy but really loves food, or just want to get a bit healthier in their eating habits. The recipes are very accessible and she gives all sorts of tips and notes on health benefits. They are also delicious and have great names like ‘Gingham Salad’. Anything to do with gingham and I’m there.

Note: Naomi says to rinse then boil the muslin before putting in the washing machine.