Recipe: summer fruit with labneh from Ottolenghi’s new book
Yotam Ottolenghi, the king of vegetables, has a new cookbook: Flavour. Since he knows better than anyone how to put vegetables in the spotlight, he shares magical vegetable recipes with Ixta Belfrage in his new cookbook. The book is divided into three parts, showing you how to make the most of vegetables and put delicious dishes, such as this summer fruit with labneh, on the table.
“This display of the best the season has to offer can serve as a light dessert, but also as the centerpiece of a brunch. You can make your own labneh, but you will need to strain the yogurt for more than 24 hours, or make things easier for yourself by choosing ready-made labneh or Greek-style yogurt stirred with some whipped cream.
You can decide which summer fruit to use, depending on what is delicious and not too expensive. You can also choose fewer varieties, or use frozen summer fruit, especially if the fruit is puréed according to the recipe. You will make more oil than you need: keep it in a glass jar to drizzle over a salad or briefly cooked vegetables.”
How to make the labneh with summer fruit
- Put the yogurt and salt in a medium-sized bowl and stir everything together. Line a sieve with a piece of cheesecloth large enough to hang over the edge and place the sieve over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth and fold the overhanging part over the yogurt so that it is covered. Place a heavy weight on the cheesecloth (a few cans or jars, for example) and put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours (up to 48 hours) to drain the yogurt.
- Meanwhile, place the oil in a small saucepan with a lid over medium heat. Heat it gently for 7 minutes, or until bubbles start to form. Remove the pan from the heat, add the thyme and orange zest, cover the pan and let the oil infuse, preferably until the next day, although half an hour will also work.
- The next day, put 50 grams of blackberries, 100 grams of raspberries and 100 grams of strawberries with the sugar and lime juice in the small bowl of a food processor and purée until smooth. Put all the remaining summer fruit and the fruit purée in a large bowl and gently toss everything together. You can serve it immediately or refrigerate it for a few hours; bring it to room temperature before serving.
- Spread the labneh over a large platter. Spoon the fruit sauce over it and sprinkle with the lime zest. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of orange oil, along with some orange zest and the extra thyme leaves.
Title: Flavour
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Price: €32
Publisher: Fontaine Uitgevers
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