Homemade Yogurt & Dukkah Encrusted Labneh Balls
 
 
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Ingredients
  • Homemade Yogurt:
  • 1 litre whole milk
  • ¼ cup plain, probiotic yogurt (at least 3% fat)
  • .
  • Dukkah:
  • ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
  • ½ cup pistachio nuts, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp ground sumac
  • 1 Tbsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp chili flakes
Instructions
  1. To make the yogurt, heat the milk in a saucepan until it is almost boiling. Remove from heat and cool the milk until it is lukewarm. Stir in the ¼ cup of yogurt. Cover the saucepan with a lid and leave it unrefrigerated and undisturbed for 10 to 12 hours. The longer fermentation, the more tart your yogurt will be. After leaving to ferment, refrigerate your yogurt for at least 6 hours or, ideally, overnight. The yogurt will thicken as it cools. That's it! There's your yogurt!
  2. To make labneh from your yogurt, place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Fold a large piece of cheesecloth in half so that it is doubled and lay it in the strainer. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth, letting the liquid run into the bowl. Tie the top of the cheesecloth with a piece of string, empty out the first bit of liquid strained out from the yogurt, and then let the cheesecloth bag sit in the strainer as the remaining liquid leaks out. For creamy 'Greek yogurt' consistency labneh, this should take roughly 3-4 hours. For firmer, goat cheese consistency labneh like I use with the Dukkah encrusted balls, leave to strain overnight in the refrigerator.
  3. To make the dukkah, combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  4. Roll the firm, goat cheese consistency labneh into balls 1-2 inches in diameter. If the labneh is sticking to your hands, place it in the refrigerator to cool and coat your hands with water or olive oil before attempting to roll again. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of dukkah over a plate, the same way you do when you're going to add a salt rim to a margarita glass. Once the balls have been formed, roll them in the dukkah on the plate to coat. Serve immediately.
  5. Store any leftover non-dukkah coated labneh balls in a sterilized jar, submerged in olive oil. Store the remaining dukkah in an airtight container- it is excellent served with olive oil and bread to dip and sprinkled overtop buttered popcorn!
Recipe by Port and Fin at https://portandfin.com/homemade-yogurt-dukkah-encrusted-labneh-balls/