I'm ready for my closeup...

So, something interesting is happening at work. The company I work for is putting together a series of online cooking classes, and I've been asked to teach the next session. (I'm SO excited!) The topic I've been asked to teach is cooking with spices, so I've been super busy the last couple of weeks compiling my lesson outlines and recipes. I'm using a mixture of recipes from my own files, modified versions of recipes we've taught in classes, and some brand new ones. Filming is in April, so many if not most/all of my blog entries the next month or so will likely be test runs of recipes I'm intending to include in the shoot. Starting with this one.

One of the dishes I'm including uses labneh, a Lebanese cream cheese made from yogurt. I can't get over how easy this was to make, and it is SO yummy. The texture and flavor is like the creamiest chevre you've ever tasted. I think this is going to be a staple in my refrigerator from now on. It's traditionally served as a mezze, the Middle Eastern version of tapas, with pita or some other flat bread, and a fresh salad of tomatoes and  mint. I also had an English cucumber and some mini bell peppers in the fridge, so I threw them in the salad,too. Such a lovely lunch!

Labneh with Tomato, Cucumber and Mint Salad

For the labneh:

32 ounces plain, whole milk Greek yogurt

1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt

olive oil to drizzle

Kosher salt and pepper to garnish

Mix the salt into the yogurt. Line a bowl with cheesecloth and pour the yogurt into the bowl. 

Bring the ends of the cheesecloth together and tie into a bundle with kitchen twine. Tie the twine to a wood spoon placed over the top of a stockpot so that the cheesecloth hangs from the spoon into the pot. (The cheesecloth should not touch the bottom of the pot.) Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 

Cut the string and remove the cheesecloth from the ball of cheese. Place the cheese in a shallow serving dish and swirl with a spoon. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

For the salad:

½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut into thick slices

½ English cucumber, cut into thin slices

2 mini bell peppers, orange, yellow or red, sliced

juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons thinly sliced mint leaves

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Place the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Serve with labneh and pita bread.