Is this a recipe? Sort of. The New York Times food section’s newsletters often talk about no-recipe “recipes”, making suggestions about putting things together and encouraging folks to use their experience, even if it’s limited, and instinct to put together food. (To quote the late Benjamin Spock, MD, “You know more than you think you do.”) And so this is one of those semi-recipes, requiring shopping skills, perhaps, but not much in terms of measuring and technique. I made this for another of the trivia contests and it was more of a hit than a fancier dip I’d done another night.
This uses labna, the Middle Eastern spreadable yogurt cheese that is spelled and pronounced several different ways. I was going to make it myself by lining a sieve or colander with cheesecloth or a very clean cotton dishtowel and letting Greek yogurt drain overnight or even a couple of days. There are lots of recipes for this online, including one that suggests using a clean t-shirt to hold the yogurt, but I’d advise against that unless you want a dish tasting faintly of Bounce. (I don’t use fabric softener on dishtowels, finding they absorb water faster when they’re hung up to dry naturally) But there the labna was in Global Foods refrigerator case against the south wall, saving me time and not any more expensive than Fage, my preferred brand of Greek yogurt.
I was at Global to pick up some zatar, the Middle Eastern seasoning mix. I found at least three brands. If I were truly dedicated, I would have bought and tasted all of them. I didn’t. I’ve used Sadaf products before and been happy, so here’s what that looks like. The mixture traditionally includes thyme, sumac and sesame seeds; some variations have other things added. Sumac is slightly tart; this brand also has a little salt in it.
When I got home, I stirred the labna to loosen it a little and spread about half of it in the serving container – in this case, an elegant Tupperware box. I sprinkled some of the zatar over it. How much? Maybe ¾ of a teaspoon – just be sure to not dump it all in the middle, season the edges, too, so when people scoop there, they’ll have some. Spread the remainder of the labna on top. Swirl it elegantly, and sprinkle more of the zatar over this – maybe a little less than you used on the lower layer, but use your judgement. I dribbled over it some good olive oil I’d brought back from California on my last trip, closed the container and refrigerated it until I needed it.
That’s it. The reason I layered it is so that the dried herbs can pick up some moisture from the labna – it could be done at the last minute, but this was easier for me because of time, and that worked out well. I offered pita chips with it, but it would work well with vegetables, too.
It was delicious. The Potato Queen was eating it with a spoon.
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