Labneh

a love story

Before diving in, I want to thank you all for the warm reception you’ve given this project! It means so much to know that you enjoy this work as much as I do. And I appreciate your kindness as me and my small-but-mighty team work through the kinks and figure out how to drive this thing. We’re trying to give you our best and have fun with it too! ; )

Psst kiddos: the homemade yogurt’s on the second shelf from the bottom!

I wonder if you have any foods that everyone in your family or friend group shares a unique love for? In my family our love of fermented milk products is deep and well documented. This is one of the few photos I have of myself with my older sister, Sammar, who died of cancer when we were both still in diapers, as we raid the family fridge in search of some fermented goods.

I’ve always loved all forms of yogurt, but over the last few years my primary allegiance has sifted to labneh. Sometimes called “yogurt cheese,” labneh is plain yogurt that’s been thoroughly strained and sometimes seasoned with a bit of salt. The resulting texture is thicker and much creamier than even Greek yogurt, with a tangier, more savory flavor. You may run into various spellings (like labna or labne), but they all denote the same lusciously creamy thing.

I always look for Karoun brand labneh, which is super creamy and has the perfect level of tanginess

As an Iranian who grew up eating a spoonful of yogurt on literally everything (including pizza and spaghetti), I don’t feel safe without a tub of labneh in the fridge. Most meals still feel incomplete without some in the mix. I use it as an all-purpose ingredient—a dollop atop practically anything, as a substitution for sour cream or a base for a quick dip. When I’m feeling really lazy, I just stir some chili crisp or herb salsa into labneh to serve with chips or dolloped on top of grilled meat. You can also thin it out to use as a substitution in recipes like buttermilk-marinated roast chicken.

Here are some of my other favorite ways to use labneh:

• With fried eggs (think Turkish eggs - via Nigella Lawson)

• Sub for sour cream in baked goods like pound cake or cheesecake (I developed an awesome recipe for Preserved Lemon & Labneh Cake in Good Things, which you can preorder here!)

• In onion dip (like this one from Andy Baraghani)

• Or in any other yogurt or sour cream-based dip, like this mast-o-musir from Najmieh Batmanglij, or even mixed with a Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packet!

• Alongside any type of rice, from tahdig to biryani to Mexican red rice

• Stir in chopped herbs (I like dill, parsley, mint, and/or cilantro), finely grated garlic, sliced scallions, and/or diced cucumbers make a condiment for rice, flatbread, grilled chicken or fish, or roasted veggies

• Spread a generous amount of plain or herbed labneh onto a platter before building a tomato, beet or cucumber salad on top

I hope these ideas inspire you to give labneh a try, and maybe even work it into your daily diet, like me.

Happy cooking, my friends!

Fava 🩷s labneh, how about you?

P.S. I can’t write an entire post about the Iranian love for yogurt without denouncing the war on Iran. I’m no socio-political expert. I’m just a person whose heart is breaking (and has already been breaking) for the many innocent civilians across Iran, Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon who are being stripped of their lives, homes and dignity. People whose ancestral foods are often elided by food media into a faceless “Mediterranean” cuisine without much further curiosity or interest in their humanity. As the novelist Sahar Delijani wrote, “If your vision of liberation comes only through the destruction of innocent lives, then it’s not freedom you’re after.”