I recently made a batch of labneh, or strained yoghurt cheese, and Joanna suggested I turn it into these flavoured balls.
The labneh was quite easy to make – we spooned our homemade Greek yoghurt into a colander lined with a clean cloth (I think it’s traditional to use muslin) and left it over a bowl for several hours until all the whey had drained off, and the yoghurt had thickened to a consistency similar to cream cheese.
After chilling in the fridge, I rolled spoonfuls of the labneh into balls and coated them in a variety of different spice mixes. It was a messy job – I found it easiest to shape the balls with slightly damp hands and then roll them in generous amounts of the coating mixture scattered on a sheet of parchment paper.
From front to back, the photo above shows the finished balls flavoured with chermoula, za’atar and a dried Italian herb mix. Apparently these will keep for a while in the fridge if covered with olive oil, but we don’t need the extra fat in our diet!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Messy, sorry, I forgot to say that, but I figured with all that chocolate shaping expertise, you would rise to the challenge and you did! They look beau-ti-ful!
What’s in the chermoula mix Celia, it’s one I don’t know, or maybe by another name? And what are you going to do with the whey? Do the chooks get it? Or does it go in your bread? xx
Mmm. One of my favorite appetizers.
These look so good.
Although I’m not familiar with chermoula.
I’m off to look it up!
I have neglected Moroccan and Tunisian cookery in my palate, I need to include some more recipes- although I’m not sure I could get the man to eat it.:(
These look very interesting (and tasty). What do you plan to do with them? Do you eat them by themselves, or on a cheese plate with bread or crackers?
Ooh Celia I had these in a salad at the Press Club in Melbourne and they were really good! I also had these rolled in quinoa and they were great! :)
Mmm they look good!! A little sourdough and salad on the side?
My Mum made these for my little one’s naming day celebration – it was the first time I’d had them and they were lovely – fresh and spicy. We had them as part of large anitpasto type platters.
These look great, Celia.
I bought some UHT milk yesterday and I am about to go and make your yoghurt today – so great timing with the cheeses!
They look awesome. You make me hungry every time I come here! Have a lovely week my friend x
I had never heard of these before…thanks for another wonderful culinary lesson!
Thank you all…Brydie, yes, with sourdough and salad!
Joanna, Heidiannie, chermoula is a middle eastern spice mix. I use a prepared mix from Herbie’s Spices – it’s pretty much our house spice blend and it goes into everything!
Here’s the recipe from Ian Hemphill’s (aka Herbie) Spice Notes book:
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh coriander leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 clove crushed garlic
3 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp mild paprika
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 pinch each cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt
This can be used to marinate meat or firm fish for 20 minutes which can then be panfried, grilled or bbqed.
I use Herbie’s chermoula mix in everything from pasta soup to meat stews – it adds a wonderful flavour to just about everything!
I make this regularly but haven’t rolled it into balls and coated with spices, thanks for the tip Celia, Roz
Please excuse me while I reach for a chermoula one! They look fantastic, Celia. Great to pull out when people are over…
They look great and tasty! What a great starter,I learn something everytime I visit, thanks for sharing,Yvette x
great idea! i never tried anything like this. i usually knead feta and ricotta to make cheese balls. i’ve only tried dried herbs as coatings. i have marinated them on occasion, and served them with roasted red pepper sauce. first i must try making greek yogurt! and if i’ll have any leftovers, i’ll go for this as well!
I love yogurt cheese. I’ve made it a couple times with store bought yogurt, but have never made these with it. I’ll have to try it. It sounds wonderful with bread and salad.
Thank you all! As Christine said, they will be great for entertaining, particularly since we keep Greek yoghurt in the fridge all the time. I guess you could pre-roll them and store them under oil, but I think we’ll just make them as we need them.
In case anyone’s interested, Herbie’s Chermoula spice mix can be bought at their store in Rozelle, or online here. It’s really the nicest mix – here’s the ingredients list: Cumin, Paprika, Onion, Turmeric, Cayenne, Garlic, Parsley, Salt, Pepper.
Celia, what country (countries) eat this the most? Is it associated with one in particular? They look divine and suuuuuper easy :) I’d love to try them out.
Sasha, I think the labneh balls are common in middle eastern/Arabic cuisines. They’re very easy to make! :)
We’re a bit dodgy over here and I just use a (new) chux cloth to strain mine.
I’ve never used dried spices or herbs on mine, I usually just use fresh chives from the garden. Sometimes I roll them in the chopped chives, sometimes I stir in the chopped chives and shape them after that.
Yum! How good is making your own yoghurt?
Jade, I must confess, I use a new clean chux as well. I give it a good rinse first, and sometimes pour boiling water over it. But I’m not sure chux is universally available, so I didn’t write it in the post. :)
Yoghurt making is just wonderful, and so easy. I wish we’d figured it out years ago!
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[…] I’m afraid this strange hoarding behaviour sometimes rubs off on me. I don’t hoard a lot of things-there is simply no space to do so here, but when I see a good deal I get very excited. When I was on my Auburn food tour I saw this 2kg container of natural yogurt for $3.99 which still had 3.5 weeks until expiry so I popped one in the trolley. Mr NQN ate about a kilo of it with some delicious maple caramel syrup ribboned throughout it and I decided to make the other kilo into labne, a delicious yogurt cheese inspired by the fabulous Celia’s adventures making labne. […]
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