Recipe: Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese) - Vegetarian

Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese)

This recipe is adapted from Poopa Dweck's  cookbook, Aromas of Aleppo, The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews. I wrote more about that book in this post on Syrian Red Lentil Soup.

Labneh, aka Lebneh, is eaten all over the Middle East. The term can cover a wide range of yogurt-based products from very thick liquid all the way through to a firmly pressed fresh cheese. It is made by draining the liquid from plain yogurt through cheesecloth, and then optionally adding flavorings, and it is quite easy to do at home.

You'll get the best results if you start with a good yogurt, such as Fage or Greek Gods. I made this batch with full fat, but I think 2% will be fine too. If you try it with non-fat, let me know how it turns out.

Dweck flavors her version with cumin, dried mint and Aleppo Pepper. She doesn't specify, but I used spearmint and it worked really well. If you don't have the Aleppo Pepper, red chili flakes would be a decent substitute. Serve this with wedges of toasted pita bread and you've got a delicious snack.

You can easily vary the flavorings with other Middle Eastern herbs and spices, citrus zest, garlic and so on. If you feel compelled to make sun-dried tomato Thai Curry labneh, please, don't tell me!

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Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese)
Vegetarian, not vegan

• 1 quart thick Greek-style yogurt or 1.5 quart thinner natural yogurt
• 1.5 t ground cumin
• 1.5 t. dried spearmint
• 1/2 t. Aleppo pepper or chili flakes
• 1.5 t. sea salt
• olive oil
• cheesecloth

1. Put a large colander in a bowl. Line the colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Pour in the yogurt, and tie the cheesecloth into a ball. For bonus points, tie cheesecloth around a wooden spoon or something you can hang over the colander rim so it is suspended. That will help it drain faster, using its own weight.
2. Put the whole apparatus in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure there is enough room in the bowl to catch the liquid, we don't want a mess in your fridge.
3. Remove the yogurt from the cheesecloth into a clean bowl. It should be firm enough to form somewhat decent balls at this point. If not, drain it more. Mix in the cumin, spearmint, pepper and sea salt.
4. To serve, fill a shallow bowl with about 1/8" of olive oil. Grease your hands and form balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. Arrange in the dish, and garnish with roughly chopped parsley or cilantro.

Recipe: Crostini with White Beans and Basil

Crostini with White Beans and Basil

This is the last of the three crostini toppings I did for the recent Kavana Men Cook event, and it is admittedly similar to the other white bean dip I posted awhile back with grilled onions. This version is pared down further, focusing simply on clear flavors from the Meyer lemon and basil. Garlic and/or chili flakes would be appropriate additions, and you could use fresh parsley, tarragon, or oregano instead of the basil.

Crostini with White Beans and Basil
Serves 6 as an appetizer
Vegetarian and vegan

1 baguette

1/4 c. peppery olive oil

one 15. oz cans cannelini, drained and rinsed (or cook your own)

juice of 1 Meyer lemon

1/3 c. basil, chiffonade

1 t. sea salt

1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Lightly mash the beans and mix in 2 T. of the olive oil, the lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasoning as needed.
3. Slice the baguette thinly, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. and brush with the remaining olive oil.
4. Toast until golden brown, and serve immediately.

Recipe: Crostini with Spanish Green Olive Tapenade

Crostini with Spanish Green Olive Tapenade

This is the second of three crostini toppings I made for our Kavana Men Cook event. This one has straight ahead Spanish flavors with the green olives, orange zest, and smoked paprika. It goes together in just a minute in a food processor. This tapenade is on the thicker side and works better as a crostini or bruschetta topping than as a dip.

One small trick here is to soak the olives in hot water for a few minutes to remove some of the saltiness. You can do the same with black olives or capers in similar recipes.

Crostini with Spanish Green Olive Tapenade
Makes 1 c. for use as a crostini topping
Vegetarian and vegan

• 1 oz. roasted red peppers (or better, piquillo peppers) drained
• 1 c. high quality pitted green olives
• zest and juice of 1/2 orange
• 1/2 t. chili flakes
• 1/2 t. smoked paprika (like pimenton dolce)

1. Soak the olives in hot water for 5 minutes or so and then drain them.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it holds together but is still somewhat coarse.
3. Taste and check seasoning.

 

Recipe: Crostini with Fromage Forte

Fromage Forte

This is the second recipe in the series of dishes we did at the recent Kavana Men Cook event. I learned it from a Jacques Pepin cookbook ages ago. Fromage Forte of course means "strong cheese", and it is the best way I know to use up all those odds and ends of good cheese in your refrigerator. You can use just about any mixture of quality cheeses, but this isn't a good place for "grocery store" cheddar type products. I like to have a mix of strong, mild, hard, and creamy, and blue cheeses to maximize the flavor.

The version I did for the Kavana event didn't have much blue cheese because I was serving a hunk of it with the polenta course (recipe coming soon). We served it with simple crostini, just slices of baguette brushed with olive oil and toasted briefly under the broiler.

All you do is trim any rinds and mold off, add a little white wine, garlic, and black pepper, and spin the whole thing in a food processor until it is pretty creamy. If it is too thick and you don't want to add more wine, you can use a little yogurt. It should be thick enough to stand up though, you don't want it runny.

Fromage Forte (also sometimes spelled Fromage Fort)
Vegetarian (and obviously not vegan!)
Makes about 2 cups for a crostini topping or dip

• 1/2 lb. cheese scraps (see note above)
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• black pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic (or more to taste)
• salt if needed
• yogurt if needed

1. Trim rock hard or gross parts off of the cheese.
2. Put the cheese, wine, pepper, and garlic in a food processor and spin for a few minutes until no large chunks remain and the texture is fairly smooth.
3. If needed, add more wine or yogurt, and salt.
4. Store in the refrigerator. The flavor improves over a couple of days, but it is very tasty right away.
5. Serve on crostini, either as is or you can run it back under the broiler to make the cheese brown.

Recipe: Chana Chaat in a Papadum Bowl

Chana Chaat in a Papadum Bowl

Chaat (or chat) is a whole family of delicious Indian snacks, served either as street food or in shops that specialize in these treats. and generally cold or at room temperature. They aren't very popular in America, but you can sometimes find a few items on a menu, especially at a South Indian restaurant.

I believe Udupi Palace in Bellevue, WA has Pani Puri, which is one of the all time great chaat items, though I don't see it on the online menu. Those of you lucky enough to live in the Bay Area can visit the legendary Vik Distributors in Berkeley, where you can load up on Indian groceries and have some of the best chaat snacks in the country. When I got a chance to travel to India, my coworkers Delhi Treats and Ayusman, among others, took me to some of the best chaat places in Delhi and I think I left my heart there, or at least my palate.

If you know of a great chaat emporium elsewhere, please add a comment below!

Anyhow, I was longing for those flavors, and I had the idea to see if I could do a slightly upscale presentation. The main trick here was to make a bowl out of a papadum. All you have to do is cut a pie shaped wedge and put it on top of a ramekin, then toast it in the toaster oven and carefully press down on it until it forms a partial bowl. I topped that with spicy chickpeas, yogurt and cilantro, and on the plate we've got a bit of tamarind gel and slices of crystallized ginger. Here's the recipe:

Chana Chaat in a Papadum Bowl
Serves 4
Vegetarian, vegan if you skip the yogurt

• 2 T. tamarind concentrate
• 2 T. boiling water
• 1 t. agar-agar powder
• 2 t. sugar
• 1 black pepper (or other flavor) papadum, cut into 4 wedges
• 2 c. cooked and cooled (or opened, rinsed, and drained) chickpeas
• 2 T. chaat masala (or mix your own)
• 1/2 c. high quality yogurt
• 1 t. mild chili powder
• sprigs of cilantro
• 4 pieces of crystallized ginger, sliced thin

1. Stir together the tamarind concentrate, boiling water, agar-agar powder, and sugar. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Cool in refrigerator. When gelled, whisk vigorously to make a viscous liquid.
2. Working one piece at a time, put a papadum on top of a small ramekin and place in a toaster oven. Toast for a few minutes until golden brown and blistering, occasionally and carefully applying slight pressure to form a bowl shape. Remove from oven and leave in ramekin for a few minutes to cool.
3. Mix chickpeas with the chaat masala. You could also add diced cucumbers, potatoes, or onions.
4. To serve, put a few drops of tamarind sauce on the plate with a medicine dropper, place a few slices of the ginger, add the papadum bowl and top with 1/4 of the chickpeas, 2 T. of yogurt, and a bit of the chili powder and cilantro.

Recipe: Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

I made this for a Seattle food blogger brunch put together by the Keren Brown, aka The Savvy Savorer. She told me her husband was making his lachooch (a delicious, slightly spongy Yemenite flatbread that reminded me a lot of Ethiopian injera, only thicker). I can't find anything about it on the web, Keren care to provide us with a recipe?

Anyhow, I figured it would go well with lemony beans, so I came up with this simple white bean salad. The flavors are basically Italian, but I snuck in a bit of preserved lemon to add a Middle Eastern twist. If you don't have preserved lemon handy just add another fresh lemon. I love the flavor of preserved lemon but you want to go easy with it for general audiences - some folks may feel it tastes like Lemon Pledge in large quantities!

Grilling the onions adds another hit of flavor. You could do that on a barbeque if it is convenient, but you can also use a grill pan or cast iron skillet.

White bean salads like this are very versatile. You can bring them as a potluck dish, use them as a side salad, have them as the main even of a light lunch, smash them a bit and offer as a dip, or even serve them hot as the base layer of an entree plate.

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan.

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions
Serves 12 as a side dish
Vegan and gluten-free

• 6 c. cooked white beans (such as cannellini)
• 1.5 large sweet onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 preserved lemon, interior only, chopped fine
• salt to taste
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1/4 c. packed sage leaves, chiffonade
• 1 T. minced rosemary leaves
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 yellow bell peppers, diced small
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley, minced (reserve a few leaves for garnish)
• 1 handful chives, minced

1. Cook the beans (or open a can), and drain thoroughly. Heat (or cool, as the case may be) the beans to a very warm temperature so they absorb flavors.
2. Slice the onions into thick circles and grill until fairly charred (see note above), then dice.
3. Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly and check for seasoning.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature. This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and the flavor will continue to improve.