Labneh bil Za'atar

Thick, tangy strained yoghurt spread across a plate, pooled with green olive oil and showered with za'atar, the dried wild thyme, sumac, and sesame blend of the Levant: the cornerstone of the Levantine breakfast and mezze table, scooped up with warm flatbread

Origin: The Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan)

From the journey of Thyme.

Labneh is yoghurt salted and hung until the whey drains away and what remains is thick, soft, and intensely tangy, somewhere between a yoghurt and a fresh cheese. It is one of the foundations of the Levantine table, eaten at breakfast, set out as mezze, and rolled into little balls preserved under oil. Its most classic dress is the simplest: a wide swirl across a plate, a generous flood of good olive oil, and a heavy scattering of za'atar, the wild thyme blend whose resinous, tart, nutty fragrance is the very taste of a Levantine morning. With warm flatbread to scoop, fresh cucumber, tomato, and olives alongside, and a glass of sweet tea, labneh bil za'atar is breakfast from Beirut to Amman.

Ingredients

Labneh

500 g full-fat natural yoghurt (Greek-style or a good thick whole-milk yoghurt)
0.5 tsp fine sea salt

To serve

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the surface
2 tbsp za'atar (the dried wild thyme, sumac, and sesame blend)
4 warm flatbreads or pitta, to serve

Method

Stir the salt thoroughly through the yoghurt. Line a sieve with a double layer of muslin or a clean thin tea towel and set it over a deep bowl. Spoon in the yoghurt, gather the cloth, and fold it loosely over the top.
Refrigerate and leave to drain for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 for a firmer labneh. Discard the whey that collects in the bowl, or keep it to enrich bread dough or soup.
Scrape the labneh into a bowl. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.
To serve, spread the labneh thickly across a wide plate, using the back of a spoon to make swirls and hollows that will catch the oil.
Pour the olive oil generously over the surface, then shower the whole plate with za'atar. Serve at once with warm flatbread, and with cucumber, tomato, and olives alongside if you wish.

Notes

For preserved labneh balls, hang the yoghurt for a full 24 hours until firm, roll heaped teaspoons into balls with oiled hands, and store them submerged in olive oil in a sterilised jar in the refrigerator, rolling some in za'atar before serving. Labneh also makes an excellent base for a savoury breakfast bowl with a poached egg, or a dip for crudités. The za'atar can be replaced with a scatter of fresh thyme leaves, a dusting of sumac, and toasted sesame if you have no blend to hand.

The Gastrographer

Name: Labneh bil Za'atar
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 12 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: The Levant
Ingredients: 500 g full-fat natural yoghurt (Greek-style or a good thick whole-milk yoghurt); 0.5 tsp fine sea salt; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the surface; 2 tbsp za'atar (the dried wild thyme, sumac, and sesame blend); 4 warm flatbreads or pitta, to serve

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control