You can transport yourself to Tel Aviv with about five minutes’ work in the kitchen.

Admittedly, the ‘‘travel time’’ (while your yogurt turns into creamy labneh) is longer than the usual five-hour flight but you’ll be there long before we re-open our borders.

Labneh is simple to make, and a staple for many Israelis. While not as familiar as hummus, it’s a dip worth delving into.

“You’ll always find it in my fridge” says Barak Aharoni, of Alena restaurant at Tel Aviv’s Norman Hotel. “It’s very versatile — as a spread or on salads or as an ingredient — and so easy to make. You just need a little time. You need to be patient.”

As time is one thing many of us have at the moment, it is worth knocking up a batch to schmeer over that sourdough (or challah) that you’ve been perfecting for the past few months.

Aharoni advises using “really good quality” Greek yogurt with a fat content between five and ten percent. “Add some salt, and, if you want it more sour — a squeeze of lemon juice.” He explains all you need to do is pour it into a clean thin cloth, set in a bowl. Tie up the cloth, place in a sieve set over a bowl and let the whey drip out. Leave it a couple of days until the cheese feels firm.

It’s then ready for a range of uses. “The classic way is to serve it with olive oil and za’atar — we serve it like that in Alena for breakfast, and it’s amazing with shakshuka. It also gives tahina sauce a lovely acidic kick if you use it instead of lemon juice.”

Aharoni suggests serving it with roasted beetroot and peppery, extra-virgin olive oil — “the sweet and the sour are a great combination”. He says it can be used as a pasta filling for tortellini, or in filo pastry, to make borekas — “I mix it with parmesan and with goat cheese”.

Emma Spitzer, author of Fress and a former MasterChef finalist has been making her own labneh for years. “I first tried it in Tel Aviv, just before I did MasterChef and made my own when I got home.”

She agrees it’s the most simple of dishes. “It’s almost embarrassing to write a recipe for it — but home-made is so much better than shop-bought versions.” Her preferred method uses regular, full-fat natural yogurt. “I prefer it to Greek yogurt as it starts with a thinner texture so there’s more whey to strain out of it.”

She mixes hers with salt, and strains it for 24 to 48 hours, initially out of the fridge for the first 20 to 30 minutes and then in the fridge. “It drains faster at room temperature.” After 48 hours, it’s thick, and ready to use. At that point she mixes in some lemon juice “for a nice tang”.

“Pre-Covid, I served it at dinner parties as a part of a mezze starter, sprinkled with dukkah — a lovely crunchy mix of nuts and seeds — which adds texture, topped with sweet, sun-dried tomatoes.” Spitzer also recommends it for breakfast — with eggs and smoked salmon.

Israeli chef, Amir Batito, makes his with goat’s milk yoghurt. “I prefer the flavour over the version with cow’s milk yoghurt” he says. “It’s not for everyone, but then I prefer goat’s milk cheeses.”

Labneh is one of the basic cheeses for Israelis, explains Batito. “You have cottage cheese; cream cheese; feta; tzfatit – which is like a soft feta; and labneh. In Israel, you often buy it packed with olive oil and za’atar. The original way of eating it comes from the Druze people, who spread over still-warm, freshly baked flatbread straight from the taboon oven and top it with olive oil and za’atar.”

“I use it as a base for vegetables. I poach then griddle leeks then dress them with date molasses; pomegranate molasses; salt, pepper and chilli and serve on top of labneh.”

He mixes his with salt and lemon-juice before straining. “The longer you drain it, the thicker it gets. If you leave it until it is almost crumbly, you can roll it into balls and put them in a jar of olive oil to preserve them longer. You can flavour the olive oil with chilli or peppercorns or other flavours and then serve them with drinks or as a snack.”

It’s a lot simpler than sourdough and takes less time than your weekly challah, so why not add to your kitchen skills and make your own labneh cheese this year.

Labneh 

Ingredients:

1.5kg natural yogurt with 4.2% fat content
1 tsp fine grain salt
To serve:
olive oil, for drizzling
 

Method: 

• Put a large square of muslin that is at least 38 cm square into a mixing bowl. Pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 3–4 minutes to sterilise it. Remove with tongs, then drape the muslin over a colander set over a second smaller bowl.
• Drain the water from the bowl, dry and add the yogurt and salt. Stir together, then spoon into the muslined colander. Bring the edges of the muslin together over the yogurt, twist and tie with string and make a loop long enough to hook over the kitchen tap. Alternatively, tie it from the knob of a high kitchen cupboard or use a preserving jelly stand if you have  one. Make sure you have a bowl under the bag to catch the liquid; it will run out quickly and look white and milky to begin with, then after 10 minutes will begin to drip clear liquid. Leave for 8–12 hours, or overnight until firm.
• Transfer the muslin bag of cheese to a plate. Chill in the fridge until required, then peel away the muslin, put on a board and serve drizzled with olive oil and za’atar, with warm pitta breads as part of a mezze-style mix of dishes.

Recipe adapted from: Hummus to Halva by Ronen Givon & Christian Mouysset, (Pavilion)