Syrian Style Labneh (Spiced Yogurt Cheese)

Ingredients:

1 quart thick Greek-style yogurt or 1.5 quart thinner natural yogurt

1.5 t ground cumin

1.5 t. dried spearmint

1/2 t. Aleppo pepper or chili flakes

1.5 t. sea salt

Olive oil

Cheesecloth

Cooking Instructions:

Put a large colander in a bowl. Line the colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Pour in the yogurt, and tie the cheesecloth into a ball. For bonus points, tie cheesecloth around a wooden spoon or something you can hang over the colander rim so it is suspended. That will help it drain faster, using its own weight. Put the whole apparatus in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure there is enough room in the bowl to catch the liquid, we don't want a mess in your fridge. Remove the yogurt from the cheesecloth into a clean bowl. It should be firm enough to form somewhat decent balls at this point. If not, drain it more. Mix in the cumin, spearmint, pepper and sea salt. To serve, fill a shallow bowl with about 1/8" of olive oil. Grease your hands and form balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. Arrange in the dish, and garnish with roughly chopped parsley or cilantro.

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