Grab your favorite greek yogurt and get ready to blow the socks off of your next dinner party guests by serving up this light, delicious, homemade cheese like the domestic goddess you are. Always inspiring us to be more creative in the kitchen, Heirloom LA certainly does not disappoint with this delicious recipe for lebne cheese hors d’oeuvres. Lebne is a quick cheese made from strained yogurt; paired with fresh peas and toasted cumin, it makes a perfect recipe for the coming Spring. You can also find a simple DIY on making your own ricotta cheese with Heirloom here!
With its mousse-like consistency, lebne is a great trick for appetizers because it holds its shape, rendering it ideal for piping. It’s basically just a strained yogurt with added flavorings to enhance whatever you are serving it with. Here our kitchen cut fresh peas in their pods and marinated them with a lemon vinaigrette to place atop the piped lebne. With such low moisture, lebne will not cause sogginess in crackers or breads, and it holds for up to one week.
Zesty Cumin Lebne Cheese
Makes 2-3 cups
Ingredients:
32 oz Greek yogurt
3 lemons, zest only
2 Tbsp cumin seed, toasted and ground
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir with rubber spatula.
Line a second mixing bowl with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth. With the rubber spatula, transfer mixed yogurt to the center of the cheesecloth lined bowl and tie together the edges (opposite corner to opposite corner, creating a sack). Suspend in a pitcher or bucket for 3-5 days. Makes 2-3 cups, depending on how long you allow it to hang.
Remove from bucket and transfer drained yogurt to an airtight container for storage.
Note: Do not discard the whey that is drained from the yogurt. Use it as a cooking liquid to add a little tartness for soups, sauces or as a vegetarian stock in pastas.
