Yogurt Cheese (Labneh)
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Photo: Annabelle Breakey
This versatile Middle Eastern cheese--which tastes like cream cheese but has fewer calories--is nothing more than strained yogurt with a bit of salt stirred in. Adding a layer of olive oil will protect and preserve it. If you want the cheese to be thicker, drain it longer.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Pour yogurt into a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth and set in a bowl deep enough that the strainer won't sit in liquid. Stir in salt, then lay ends of cheesecloth over yogurt, covering it. Chill at least 1 day and up to 2 (cheese will get denser the longer you drain it).
Step 2
2
Spoon cheese into a tall, narrow jar and top with 1/4 in. oil. Labneh keeps, chilled, up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients
3 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil