Labaneh Vegetable Sandwich

Published On September 21, 2012

This post is to participate with Recipe Redux for the month of September. The theme this month is fermented foods.

With the start of the school year, get your gut back in gear with natural fermentation! Think sauerkraut, yogurt, grape juice. Don’t have a yogurt maker or any cabbage to ferment in a bowl? Tell us how you use your favorite fermented food…beyond yogurt parfaits, if you please!

I decided to go with a yogurt-fermented food that I absolutely love. Labaneh–or labneh–is becoming more popular in recent years now that we know that fermented foods improve health by supporting a healthy gut flora (good bacteria). Also known as kefir cheese, labaneh has been a mystery ingredient on Chopped. It’s very versatile, super easy to make, and simply delicious.

You can buy labaneh from Middle Eastern stores. Sometimes I buy it ready, other times I make it at home. I prefer the taste of the homemade version. Plus, I have control over the type of yogurt I start with; low-fat and organic.

It takes 2 days to make labaneh, so plan ahead. For the vegetables, I used fresh organic spinach, organic red bell pepper, and crushed dried mint. I wanted to add black olives but forgot. The vegetable options are unlimited, choose from roasted bell peppers, artichokes, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, arugula, or fresh mint or basil leaves. For the bread, I used Italian bread because that’s the only artisan bread I found that is made with whole grains. It was a bit hard; if that’s going to bother you, choose whole wheat toast or whole pita bread.

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making labaneh 1 — Place a paper towel (one layer) in a strainer. Place both inside another bowl to collect the whey

making labaneh 2 — Labaneh is set. I reserved the whey. It has protein, so I’ll use it for something else.

making labaneh 3 — In the jar, cover with extra virgin olive oil

labaneh vegetable sandiwch — I love this tray from Ikea. Isn’t it cute? You can also add a couple slices of turkey, but I felt like keeping it vegetarian for today. I dipped extra veggies in labaneh on the side.

Labaneh Vegetable Sandwich

Recipe Type: Sandwich

Author: Nour Zibdeh

Delicious labaneh (kefir cheese) over whole wheat bread with fresh spinach, bell peppers, and dried crushed mint

Ingredients

1 2-lb container low-fat plain yogurt
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
whole wheat bread
Crushed dried mint
1/2 c fresh spinach
1/2 red pepper

Instructions

Place a paper towel in a strainer. Place the strainer in a slightly larger bowl to collect the whey fluid.
Mix the salt in the yogurt in the container or in a separate bowl.
Pour the yogurt over the paper towel. Leave in your kitchen in room temperature for 48 hours.
When the cheese is set, transfer to a glass jar. Press tightly to eliminate as many air bubbles as possible. Pour the olive oil over the labaneh. Make sure the top is completely cover with oil. Store labaneh in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To make the sandwich, spread a tablespoon of labaneh over each slice then top with some crushed mint. Top one side with spinach leaves and bell pepper sticks. Top with the other piece of bread. Dig in!

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9 thoughts on “Labaneh Vegetable Sandwich”

EA-The Spicy RD
September 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm

Your sandwich is making me hungry!! Love learning about a new dish-I’ve never heard of labneh before, but it sounds delicious. Would it work with liquid kefir too?? Can’t wait to try this!
Lama
September 21, 2012 at 5:04 pm

I am used to labneh with cucumbers, olives, or fresh mint leaves. I never thought to mix them all in a sandwich. I also love your sandwich, it looks delicious. Its worth a try! 🙂
1. Nour Zibdeh
  September 23, 2012 at 8:50 am
  
  Thanks Lama. I wanted to venture out from tomatoes and cucumbers 🙂
Serena
September 22, 2012 at 8:47 am

We’ve missed your yummy creativity Nour! Glad to have you back to Recipe ReDux this month! And LOVE this recipe idea…I’ve strained yogurt before but never for 2 days! Can’t wait to try!
1. Nour Zibdeh
  September 23, 2012 at 8:53 am
  
  Thanks Serena and I missed the Recipe ReDux! I loved the theme, EA always has great ideas! I hope you give it a try, some people even strain for longer but I feel that 2 days is enough to get the flavor texture before worrying too much about bacterial growth!
Robin from Robinsbite
September 22, 2012 at 3:52 pm

This looks delish and so do-able! Thanks for the great idea!
1. Nour Zibdeh
  September 23, 2012 at 8:57 am
  
  Thanks Robin for the comment and for stopping by!
Nicole McCoy
February 1, 2013 at 1:02 pm

This looks amazing! I’m going to store to buy some yogurt and try this! Thanks for posting!
1. Nour Zibdeh
  February 5, 2013 at 1:10 pm
  
  Thank you Nicole!