Orange and Honey Labaneh

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In Israel there's heat waves left and right, and here in New York, it's raining. Rain. And more rain, then rain, and we'll be sealed in rain. End of May God, haven't the Jews suffered enough?

My body is at war. Cold, wet, hot and sweaty. It's in attention deficit disorder, short sleeves and a thick vest, Bermuda shorts, a scarf and high heels.

Everything takes, everything goes to Jit.

Labaneh is the easiest thing in the world to make.

Basically all you need is yogurt, salt and cheesecloth (and in desperate needs, a thin kitchen towel will work) and a strainer. That's it.

You can find cheesecloth at your local supermarket. Give it a good rinse with plenty of water and no fabric softener.

We put the yogurt in cheesecloth and tie it. You can hang it from your kitchen faucet like many of you like to do, or you can just put it in a strainer over a bowl. Less exotic, but the works the same.

Goat yogurt will produce Goat Labaneh and sheep yogurt will produce Sheep Labaneh.

A word before

When our Labaneh is ready, transfer it to an airtight container, coat it with a thin layer of olive oil, and then refrigerate it.

Orange and Honey Labaneh

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of full-fat yogurt (preferably sheep or goat)

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 2 tablespoons of honey

• 3 teaspoons vanilla paste

• 2 teaspoons orange zest

• For serving, high-quality honey and lavender flowers

How to prepare

1. The simplest. Take a strainer. Place it over a bowl. Spread a cheesecloth over it so that its edges extend out. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix yogurt, salt, honey, vanilla paste, and orange zest. Mix well. Transfer the yogurt into the strainer. You will immediately begin to hear the liquids leaving the yogurt. Using a rubber band or string, tie the edges of the cheesecloth together. Hang the cheesecloth over a sink faucet (or put the cheesecloth in a strainer and sit the strainer in a bowl. It is important that there is a gap between the bottom of the strainer and the bowl) and let the yogurt strain the liquids for a good few hours. Six to seven hours. Now you have a good Labaneh spread that is ready to eat. If you want to continue "straining" the Labaneh to make it harder, you will transfer it to the refrigerator. Tie a knot in the cheesecloth. Thread a spoon into the knot. Place the cheesecloth in a tall container with the wooden spoon sitting on the edge of the container. This way we keep the cheesecloth hanging and there will be room for the yogurt to continue strain liquids in the refrigerator. Leave the Labaneh in the refrigerator for another 12 hours.

2. Transfer the Labaneh to a serving dish.

   With the back of a spoon, smooth the surface of the Labaneh and make a "well" in the center. Drizzle with olive oil. Drizzle with a little high quality honey and lavender flowers.