Yotam Ottolenghi’s Labneh With Berries Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 1, 2024 • 2 min read
This display of the season’s best produce can double as a brunch accompaniment or light dessert. It’s a layered platter of rich homemade or store-bought labneh topped with multiple kinds of sweet, juicy berries and a bit of orange-infused olive oil. The tangy labneh forms the base, the lime juice and sumac echo and enhance the acidity of the berries, and the orange-and-thyme-infused oil provides a savory balance to the dessert.
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What Is Labneh?
Labneh, also spelled labne, is a Middle Eastern (and particularly Lebanese) strained yogurt. Labneh is spreadable like cream cheese and tangy like sour cream. Since labneh is made with yogurt but spreadable like a soft cheese, many people call it "yogurt cheese." If you have yogurt—whether it's homemade yogurt or good-quality supermarket yogurt—you can make homemade labneh.
3 Tips for Making Labneh With Berries
- 1. The berries you use are totally up to you—try using what’s in season at the moment. You can also use frozen berries, which are often less expensive and just as high quality.
- 2. Some people may balk at the idea of putting olive oil on a sweet dish, fear not—this oil has a mellow, grassy flavor punctuated by floral orange peel. You’ll make more oil than you need here; store any extra in a glass jar to drizzle over salads or lightly cooked vegetables later on.
- 3. As with all vegetable platters, the goal is to create layers of flavor and texture—don’t shy away from adding your own favorite sweet, savory, or tangy ingredients. Serve labneh with berries as-is as a standalone dessert or alongside granola.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Labneh With Berries
makes
prep time
20 mintotal time
1 hrcook time
40 minIngredients
- 1
Make the labneh 12 to 48 hours ahead of time (see Yotam’s labneh recipe here).
- 2
Make the orange oil. Place the olive oil in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat and warm for about 7 minutes or until tiny air bubbles form. Add the thyme and orange strips, remove from heat, and set aside. Allow to infuse for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- 3
Make the berry topping. Add ⅓ each of the blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries to the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar, lime juice, and sumac, and blitz until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the berry purée into a mixing bowl and set aside. Add all of the remaining berries, the blueberries, and the cherries to a large bowl along with the blitzed fruit, and stir gently to combine. If not using the topping immediately, keep the mixture refrigerated, bringing it back up to room temperature before serving.
- 4
To serve, spread the labneh onto a large platter, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. Spoon the berry mixture over the labneh. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the orange oil, then top with a few strips of orange skin and the picked thyme. Lastly, sprinkle with the lime zest and a good pinch of sumac.
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