salad – Page 6 – My Whisk and I

Fresh soft cheese made from yoghurt is better known by its Middle-Eastern name, Labneh or in some cases by its Dutch name, Hangop Kaas. Whatever you choose to name it, this cheese makes a salad come to life and adds interest to cheese platters and a spread for cocktails.

1 litre Greek Yoghurt
salt and pepper
a handful of very finely chopped fresh herbs like basil, thyme, chives
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
500ml olive oil

Scoop the yoghurt into a mixing bowl and leave it out on the counter in your kitchen for a few hours until it starts to form a whey layer.
Rinse a muslin cloth in cold water and line the inside of a sieve with it, allowing the ends to hang over the sides.
Hang/suspend the sieve in a mixing bowl so that the whey can drip into the bowl.
Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to the yoghurt and stir through.
Pour the yoghurt into the muslin-lined sieve and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator, gather the ends of the muslin cloth and make a knot at the top. Push the handle of a wooden spoon underneath the knot and then place the spoon with each end resting on the side of the mixing bowl so that the muslin parcel hangs inside the bowl.
Place the bowl back into the refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours.

Now remove the yoghurt from the muslin cloth for the last time. Mix the yoghurt and soft, chopped herbs in a mixing bowl.
Sterilise 2 glass jars and dry them.
Scoop a tablespoon of the yoghurt cheese into your hand and roll it into a ball.
Place the ball into the glass jar and keep going with the rest of the cheese.
Slide the bay leaves and herb sprigs into the jars and fill them up with the olive oil.
Marinate the cheese for 2 days before use.
Store in the refrigerator.

Barley is a nutritious whole-grain and makes a delicious salad. In this recipe you may replace the roasted beetroot and carrots with leftover, roasted veg. The dressing in this salad pulls the dish together and perks it up to extra tasty!

250ml pearl barley
750ml water
10ml stock powder
about half an English cucumber, diced
one red onion, diced
a handful of basil and mint, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
about 125ml roasted beetroot, chopped
about 125ml roasted carrot, chopped
125ml pomegranate seeds

Dressing:

60ml lemon juice
zest of one lemon
60ml olive oil
60ml honey
5ml mustard
60ml mayonnaise
5ml salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Add the pearl barley, water and stock powder to a small saucepan and turn the heat onto high. Keep an eye on it as it gives off a lot of foam at first and can cause the pot to boil over.
When the water reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low so that it reaches a simmer.
Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the barley is done. The water should be absorbed after 25 minutes and the barley should have tripled in volume. It should be soft but chewy.
Take the saucepan from the heat, fluff the barley with a fork and put aside to cool.

For the dressing:

Add all the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk for about a minute or until the dressing is amalgamated.

Add the cooled barley to a mixing bowl and mix with the cucumber, onion, herbs, tomato, beetroot and carrots.
Drizzle half of the dressing onto the salad and give everything a good mix.
Add the pomegranate seeds to the salad and drizzle with a little more dressing.
Serve the salad with the extra dressing in a jug.

Tag: salad

Yoghurt Cheese

Barley Salad