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DIY projects - Homemade Labneh

August 11, 2013 by Jenn Bernstein in DIY, Middle Eastern

I like cooking experiments. I like them so much that sometimes when I'm looking for something to eat, I realize I've spent my time in the kitchen on projects that peaked my interest that week, rather than cooking a sensible meal. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the urban homesteading trend just as much as any Brooklynite. I really like learning to make jam, baking treats, and pickling. This can lead to a strange mix of things to eat when you're hungry, but I also kind of enjoy the mad-scientist look of the contents of my fridge at times. I think of it as just one of the perks of being an grown-up kid, along with eating dessert before (and after) dinner. Recently, when considering my next DIY cooking project, I decided to attempt one that was simple, and not readily available, as opposed to butter or something. After my trip to Israel, I'd become obsessed with labneh - eating it for breakfast, and using it to compose simple open-face sandwiches in lieu of a proper dinner. As I was getting tired of trips to the mega-kosher grocery near my Grandma's house in Queens to find labneh, I learned to make my own. It's easy, it's super adaptable, and the waiting period is much less painful than a 45-minute subway ride to suburban Queens on an otherwise perfectly good weekend day.

Labneh, a kind of spreadable "cheese" made from yogurt, is eaten all over the Middle East. It's is relatively unknown here, and I think that's an even better reason to attempt it on your own, because chances are it'll be a lot easier than trying to find it at your local grocery. And, of course, the homemade one I had was better than the pre-packaged one. When I started my experiment I had no idea that the likes of Heidi and David had already shown the hungry people of the Internet that this was something worth trying. But, check out their posts for more ideas of what to do with it once you have it.

To say this classifies as an "easy" recipe, might be an understatement. Go get yourself some Greek yogurt, cheesecloth, a strainer and two bowls. Mix the yogurt with the salt, dump the mixture into a bowl lined with cheesecloth, and squeeze into a tight ball. Set the cheesecloth ball into a strainer that is set that over a deep bowl. Keep the bowl in the fridge for 24-36 hours. Check on it after 24 hours, to see how much has drained out. I waited the full 36 hours. Once you have waited the proper amount of time, the yogurt will appear thick and spreadable. Voíla! You have Labneh. Spread it on anything crunchy, layer sliced cucumbers or tomatoes on it, and sprinkle with za'atar. It's also really good mixed with preserves for a sweet version (if you haven't already sprinkled za'atar all over it). The best part is knowing you didn't have to get on a plane, or a train, to eat what you were craving.

Homemade Labneh

Recipe inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's Jerusalem. Incredibly simple as long as you start the process two days in advance. It will keep in your fridge for two weeks or a tad longer. It goes with anything you can imagine mixing it with over bread.

4 cups Greek yogurt (or a mixture of half cow's milk, half goat's milk yogurt) combined with 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt.

Mix together, place in a cheesecloth. Leave wrapped tightly in a ball in a strainer set over a bowl for 36 hours in your refrigerator. When ready, transfer to an air-tight container for storing.

August 11, 2013 /Jenn Bernstein
dairy, DIY Projects, easy, Middle Eastern, cheese, Ottolenghi
DIY, Middle Eastern
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shakshuka birthday breakfast

Eating around Israel

June 22, 2013 by Jenn Bernstein in Markets, Middle Eastern, Travel

This Spring I took my first trip to Israel to visit my cousin who had moved there. She had been telling me all about how much I was going to love it for years, so I finally decided to get over my politics and go. We spent weeks planning where we'd go and what we'd see. The necessary tourist stops, the famous religious sites, and of course where we'd eat. In the weeks leading up to the trip, I kept picking up the the Jerusalem cookbook in anticipation. I was ecstatic when I saw Gabriella Gershenson's beautiful piece in Saveur the month before on the Northern region of the country, and attempted to re-work my plans to include her recommendations. I found a NY Times article on Yotam Ottolenghi's favorite spots near the food market in Jerusalem. I had my trusty guidebook (basically because I like having an actual book of info that doesn't involve an internet connection) and all of those recommendations, along with the list my cousin had compiled. Top of the culinary itinerary was all matter of baked goods. I was excited to taste all the Arab sweets I'd never tried, and see if the Israeli versions of my favorite Jewish ones - rugelach, babka, and cheesecake were different. I was visiting during Shavuot, a holiday where it's customary to eat cheese products in celebration. I never knew about that tradition, but it's a good one. Unless you're lactose-intolerant, like my cousin. Poor thing. As I diligently plowed through cheesecake, burekas, frozen yogurts, and fluffy pitas stuffed with labneh and za'atar she tried to keep up, and suffered for it. She clearly went beyond the call of a gracious host.

Arab sweets
olives
halva

Battling her intestinal woes, and my New Yorker impatience with the apparent shut-down of the entire country for four days, the holiday into Shabbat, we changed our plans daily and at times hourly, to work around these roadblocks. She did prove remarkably resourceful when needed, and was as content as me to spend a good portion of the day visiting markets, bakeries and such. In fact, the first thing we went to do was visit the Shuk Ha'Carmel and the spice district in Tel Aviv.

We traveled to Jerusalem, where for the most part, the Old City felt a little too perfect of a union between clashing cultures brought together by potential tourism profits. On a more positive note, I did see an elderly Holocaust survivor being carried into a synagogue in the Old City to celebrate his bar mitzvah and his whole party were so excited that we literally got swept up the stairs with them out of curiosity and awe. Then we looked at each other and realized we were two seconds away from being party crashers. We left in search of lunch and the Machane Yehuda market. It was one of the most vibrant food markets I've ever been to, even though a grumpy man with a beautiful halva stand (a sweet nougat made from sesame-paste) yelled at me for taking photos.

Old City - Jerusalem
The Old Man and the Sea
Dead Sea

Throughout the week I had lots of new culinary experiences, including an old seafood restaurant in the Jaffa Port in Tel Aviv, where the meze spread they lay out on the table reminded me so much of the banchan dishes at a Korean restaurant (minus the tofu). I ate at a really fun Georgian restaurant for my birthday, where I had one of the most decadent savory stuffed breads I've ever eaten split open and topped with an egg. I foolishly missed out on my chance to have a a sabich sandwich (a pita stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, pickles and chutney) because I didn't take the little cousin's advice one afternoon. But the thing that surprised me the most, was the plethora of dairy products. The dairy case at every grocery store was huge, stocked with different types of milk, chocolate milks and milk-shake type drinks, coffee milks, yogurt in every form imaginable, soft cheeses and of course, labneh. Labneh is a fresh cheese made from yogurt and eaten all over the Middle East (more on how easy it is to make at home in a later post).

Abulafia Bakery

On my last day in Tel Aviv, we made it back to the Jaffa port and went to Abulafia (24-hour bakery open since 1879), known for their fresh bread, and a form of Israeli bagels (less doughy and dense than NY ones) covered in sesame seeds. The options for your bagel sandwich are different types of labneh, feta, cream cheese and your choice of pickled things, veggies, spice blends, and chili pastes. The standard NYC options of scallion, vegetable or tofutti "cream cheese" looked pretty sad next to this. When my cousin said she had to get a bagel, I knew she'd regret eating it, the same way she knew if she ordered it, I wouldn't be able to resist sharing it. We stood on the street corner and devoured this pressed bagel sandwich, catching warm melty bits of cheese and pickles as we tore off chunks, each complaining that the other wasn't eating enough. That sandwich was the perfect sum of my experiences on my first trip to Israel. A little chaotic, a little unexpected, and a change in consciousness I knew I'd be taking home with me.

June 22, 2013 /Jenn Bernstein
Jewish, Markets, MiddleEastern, Travel
Markets, Middle Eastern, Travel
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