Recipes
Sweet labneh
Sweet labneh is a simple yet elegant dessert featuring a creamy, tangy yoghurt base topped with a delicate sweet layer. With just a few steps—flavouring, straining, and assembling—it makes a refreshing treat perfect as a pre-dessert, palate cleanser, or a light finish to a meal.
Ingredients
For the Base:
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- 500g full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
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- 1 tsp ground coriander root (or 1 tsp ground coriander seeds as a substitute)
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- 1 tbsp mixed roasted seeds (e.g. sesame, sunflower, pumpkin)
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- Pinch of sea salt (optional)
For the Sweet Topping:
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- 2 tbsp runny honey
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- A small pinch of saffron threads
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- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted
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- 1 tbsp dried rose petals
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- 2 tbsp granola, lightly spiced (e.g. with cinnamon or cardamom)
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- 2 tbsp mango purée
Instructions
1. Prepare and flavour the yoghurt
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- Place the Greek yoghurt in a mixing bowl.
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- Stir in the ground coriander root, seeds, and saffron honey to flavour the yoghurt before straining.
2. Strain the yoghurt
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- Line a clean tea towel or muslin cloth over a bowl or sieve.
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- Spoon the flavoured yoghurt onto the cloth.
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- Bring the edges of the cloth together and tie tightly with string.
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- Give it a gentle squeeze to start the draining process (don’t over-squeeze as it can force out too much yoghurt).
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- Hang the yoghurt over a bowl to collect the whey:
- Ideally, hang overnight in the fridge.
- If short on time, squeeze gently and chill for 2 hours to firm it up.
💡 Save the drained whey water – it can be used in smoothies, baking, or for fermenting vegetables.
Sweet labneh
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- Infuse the honey: Warm the honey gently and stir in the saffron. Allow to cool.
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- Fold a spoonful of saffron honey gently into the labneh – don’t overmix to maintain texture.
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- Roll or coat the labneh in a mix of:
- Toasted coconut
- Dried rose petals
- Spiced granola
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- Serve on a plate with a spoon of mango purée and an extra drizzle of saffron honey.
Serving suggestions
Great as a pre-dessert, palate cleanser, or part of a light dessert plate.
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