I used to go to the neighborhood middle eastern market and restaurant next door to the tempe Masjid. The first time I went with my roomate and she ordered some Lebne. What is Lebne I asked. "Its made from yougurt, like a mix between sour cream, cream chesse, and thick yougurt, don't worry you'll love it." So I waited for my first taste of arabic food.
It arrived promptly in a brown bowl. It was creamy and white and a river of olive oil ran in a circle in the middle. A smattering of cumin and paprika also decorated the sides and an olive stuck up in the middle. I claimed the olive and bit into it happily. I'm an avid olive fan....until just then when I almost broke my tooth. Not only was the olive oily (yuk) but there was a seed inside. My roomate laughed at my expression. "What is wrong with these poeple can't they buy them without the seeds!" I exclaimed. Then getting over my olive shock I dipped a piece of pita bread into the lebne and tried it. Ahhhhh! Now there was something to fall in love with.... so creamy and just indescribably delicious. I would have licked the bowl clean if I hadn't been surounded by people.
Lebne is the one Arab food I can and will eat all day and not be sick of it EVER!
2 intelligent thoughts:
I had to get used to labna but now I totally can eat it with anything!
labaneh is wonderful ,I really can't imagine a morning without eating it for breakfast ..
here's a recipe for you(labaneh salad):
you will need: labaneh,3 red tomatos,frech mint,garlic,olive oil,salt,thyme
chop the tomatoes,add salt,finely chop garlic(i use 1 clove),chop mint and mix them together with the tomatoes,add 4 table spoons of labaneh and there you have it
I eat it with pita bread but you can also ea it with a fork
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