I can’t believe I’ve never come across this before! It’s absolutely fab and so low in syns its insane! 😮
This whole pat of soft cheese is only 1.5 syns and tastes fab!
Its a middle eastern cheese made from strained yoghurt. It’s fab! And so easy! You just mix some flavours and salt into your yoghurt and put it in the fridge in a lined sieve overnight – next morning you have cheese! And you can put whatever flavourings, spices, herbs etc you want in it. It’s like a soft cheese such as Philadelphia but creamy and crumbly… kind of a cross between a soft cheese spread and a dry-er goat’s cheese or Feta or something. Kinda like Boursin! :drool:
The original recipe asked for full fat yoghurt so I wasnt sure low fat would be any good but gave it a go anyway with Total 2%. Its so easy!
Ingredients:
– Low-fat Greek yoghurt (I used 500g Total 2%)
– Salt
– Spices/flavourings of your choice
– A muslin cloth, a bowl, a sieve/colander, a small plate and a full jar/tin to weigh it all down
Directions:
– Mix 1/2 tsp of salt per 500g yoghurt and whatever flavourings you fancy
(I used 500g Total 2% (1.5 syns), with 1 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds, 2 tsp dried chillies and a bit of freshly ground pepper. I’d use more spices next time but this is the first time I’ve done it).
– Get a muslin cloth, rinse, squeeze dry and line a sieve or colander with it. Place the sieve in a bowl to collect the whey. Then spoon your yoghurt mix in and fold over the top of the muslin:
I’m having some of it on a warm lentil & rice salad with slow roast spicy tomatoes tonight, but you could use it on crispbread, with pasta, all sorts I imagine! You could mash it up and add garlic, herbs, lemon zest… the possibilities are endless!
Some of the flavours suggested in the book I’ve got include:
coriander or cumin seeds, dried chilli, chopped herbs, lemon zest, vanilla seeds, sugar, dried apricots (not all together! 😀 ) and there are loads more versions of it on the web if you google for labne recipes!
Ill definitely be trying this again with other flavourings! Next time garlic, a little lemon, and lashings of black pepper I think!
Yumtastic and only 1.5 syns for the whole lot with Total 2%. I dont know what it’d be like with fat free Total? Definitely worth finding out tho!