How to make tzatziki salad with homemade labneh balls

Beverley Hicks serves up the perfect hot weather salad
Beverley Hicks
Beverley Hicks12 July 2017

Labneh is a Middle Eastern fresh cheese made from yoghurt, which is strained through muslin making it thicker and creamier.

Here, it is made into balls and served with a salad of chunky cucumber and mint with a very garlicky dressing.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 large cucumber

10 mint leaves, finely chopped

For the labneh balls

500g yogurt

1 teaspoon salt

For the dressing

2 fat garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried dill

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

You will need

Large pieces of muslin, a sieve and a bowl to drain the labneh

A wide sterilised jar and olive oil to store the labneh balls

Method

To make the labneh, place the sieve over a bowl and lay the muslin in the sieve. Mix the salt into the yogurt then pour into the muslin-lined sieve. Wrap the overhang of the muslin over the yogurt and tie the ends together, you can give the bag a little squeeze to help it on its way. Put in the fridge for at least 24 hours to strain.

After 24 hours remove the yogurt from the fridge and untie the muslin. The yogurt will have become firm and will look like cream cheese. You have just made labneh.

Take small pieces of the labneh and roll in your hands to produce smooth balls, about the size of cherry tomatoes. Put these balls on a plate lined with a clean piece of muslin, cover with more muslin and place in the fridge for an hour to firm-up.

Carefully place the balls into a wide sterilised jar and cover with olive oil, secure the lid and put in a cool place, but not the fridge as this is not good for the olive oil. These will keep for 2-3 days.

To make the salad, slice the cucumber, length ways, into four and scrape out the seeds. Chop into 1 cm pieces and place in a bowl with the chopped mint.

Put all the dressing ingredients into a screw-top jar, secure the lid and shake well together. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Pour the dressing over the cucumber and toss together. With a slotted spoon, remove the cucumber from the bowl and divide between two plates. Top with some labneh balls and drizzle over any remaining dressing.

Find more of Beverley's recipes here. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlechelseakitchen for more inspiration.

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