Labneh is very simply strained yogurt. When left long enough to drain, it passes from being what is called Greek yogurt to being a solid spreadable cheese-like fermented product. It is found in varying degrees of spreadability in myriad world cuisines, and rightly so, because it pairs well with so many other flavors and ingredients.
Here the labneh stands as the arbitrator between two principle ingredients from related culinary giants, Italian dried tomatoes and North African harissa. I play upon that combination further by adding crisp candied orange peel shards and a fresh green aromatic, savory. I would suggest not opting out of any of these in order to achieve the full effect. However, as tasty and enjoyable as it is when everything is made from scratch, you can dial backward or forward from what is presented here as suits your time and ability. I start at a middle road.
Labneh
400ml Greek yogurt
400ml goat milk yogurt
½ tsp salt
Topping
1 orange
1 tbsp butter
1 tsbp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
200g dried tomatoes in oil, chopped fine
1-2 tsp harissa
Leaves from two sprigs of savory
Olive oil
Directions
Mix the labneh ingredients in a small bowl. Place a piece of muslin or sturdy cheesecloth in another bowl and drop the pre-labneh in the cloth (1). Bring the edges together, squeeze the yougurt mix into a ball and tie a string around the neck of the package (2). Hang to dry on the kitchen faucet or whatever you have that will allow the sack to drip (3). Some people use a clean stocking instead of muslin. Leave it to drain 24-30 hours. It will stiffen and shrivel. Open the cloth and pick the shards off that stick to the side and add them to the ball (4).
With a very sharp paring knife, trim the zest off the orange (5). It should be of medium thickness, not down to the fruit (6). Bring 1½ cups of water to the boil in a small pan and boil the peel for three minutes. Strain and place in a frying pan so that they are not overlapping. Turn the heat on medium and melt the butter, tipping and turning to coat the shreds. Sprinkle the sugar and salt evenly. They should foam for a while.
With a fork, try to turn them so that they cook evenly. Once the start to show a bare hint of brown, take them off heat and place them one by one onto a piece of parchment paper so that they are not touching. Some will start browning before others, so work accordingly. If timed properly, they will become crisp once they have cooled. If not, they will still taste good (7). Store bought orange peel can be substituted, but it will not have the same buttery, salty, crispy, sweetness.
Mix the topping ingredients together, except for the orange peel, olive oil and some of the savory. Spread the labneh onto a plate, top with the dried tomato mixture, and garnish with orange peel and savory. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil around the edge of the labneh (9) and serve with warm pita (10).
