I’ve been making Goat Labneh, a fresh homemade goat cheese. It is extremely simple in fact you will be very surprised just how simple it is to make creamy delicious fresh goat cheese at home. All you need is a big pot of creamy goat yoghurt.
Goat cheese at home
I’ve used Meredith dairy yoghurt from Victoria www.meredithdairy.com . It’s a clean fresh yoghurt with a gentle goat flavour. You’ll find it in some health food stores and Harris farm Markets. I drained it just as you do to make regular Labne in muslin cloth over a bowl overnight or at least for a couple of hours depending on how thick you’d like your Labne.
Before the delicious Labneh recipe I wanted to show you some of the interesting food I found on a trip to Penang in Malaysia. One of my favourite places in Malaysia to travel would have to be the amazing island of food and fun, Penang.
Nutmeg grows abundantly in these parts and is a real favourite as a fruit or pickled and candied but also fresh, as a drink. Drinking nutmeg juice is a lovely quirky Penang pastime. Like everything in life there are many different takes on what constitutes a good Nutmeg juice. Not all juices are equal with some being delivered to the table as a brownish iced drink with a sweet back note. These are produced from Nutmeg syrup (in bottles and commercially produced) that can be bought in the markets and shops. The real squeezed nutmeg juice is a white liquid that is often served with a sour plum floating in the bottom. It is sweet and savoury at the same time with the exotic and surprisingly delicate taste of nutmeg.
Fresh nutmeg juice
Nutmeg in the sun
The nutmeg fruit is opened. The seed and the filigree are dried and the fruit made into juice
Making the fresh juice. They are kept in acidated water to stop discolouring
I hope to make some interesting things with that candied and pickled nutmeg. But for now, all my kitchen contains is this totally creamy and moorish fresh Goat Cheese or Labneh. I’ve called today’s recipe Goat Labneh Roasted Tomatoes Chives and Balsamic. You could make it from Greek yoghurt by draining for a day or use ready made Goat curd. It makes a great do ahead snack to keep people happy while you are busy in the kitchen.
A great entree
Goat Labneh Roasted Tomatoes Chives and Pinenuts
Ingredients
- 500 gm goat yoghurt
- 250 gm Cherry Tomatoes
- 40 ml balsamic vinegar
- 40 ml olive oil
- 1/4 cup chives snipped
- 5 gm salt and pepper
- 25 gm pinenuts toasted
- 50 gm bacon cooked to crisp drained and crumbled (optional)
- 20 ml olive oil
- Fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- To make this fresh cheese you need to drain the whey from the yoghurt. The longer it drains the firmer the cheese. For this starter I like to drain it 8 hours maximum. I usually like to leave it overnight for best results.
- You need some cheese cloth or a nice clean tea towel. Some string or a firm elastic band and a sieve and bowl for draining.
- Spoon the yoghurt onto the cheese cloth or teatowel and draw up the edges so that the yoghurt is in a sort of sling , almost like a basket ball hanging in a plastic bag.
- Tie up the top so none of the yoghurt escapes. or simply rest the yoghurt over a sieve and bowl in the cloth pegging the top to hold the draining cloth in place. (as the picture above shows).
- Cover and leave to drain overnight. A lot of liquid will escape leaving a creamy firm goat cheese.
- Discard the liquid and turn the cheese into a bowl till you are ready to use it.
- Pre heat the Oven 180 C / 350 F
- Put the cheery tomatoes into a bowl with the balsamic and the 40 ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil. Toss and season well with salt and pepper and put into the oven until the tomatoes just start to soften, approximately 10 minutes. Put them into a container to cool (they taste better at room temperature. Don't serve them chilled)
- Put the chopped bacon onto a tray and roast till crispy and golden, drain on baking paper (optional)
- Toast the pinenuts till lightly coloured and crunchy (8 minutes)
- Spread the yoghurt onto a dish. Sprinkle with half of the chives then spoon over the tomatoes along with any pan juices, balsamic and olive oil.
- Sprinkle with the remainder of the chives, nuts and bacon and serve with biscuits or pita bread.
Notes
you can substitute basil for chives or use both.
This can also be spread onto bruschetta toasts too!
Yum!
I cam here expecting to have a look in your kitchen and will be leaving with a better understanding of nutmeg. I’d no idea that it’s actually a fruit and has so many uses. A juice? Who knew! Thanks, Tania.
You have peaked my curiosity with all this about nutmeg! I though all there was to it was mace and whole and ground. What you have written about is so intriguing. Making the cheese from the goat yogurt is so good! Yours with the roasted tomatoes simply looks amazing.
It looks so creamy and luscious! Wish I could smear it over some crispy fresh bread… mmmm
I never realised nutmeg had a fruit component to it too – the things one learns when scouring the interwebs!! Love the goats cheese/roasted tomato combo, such a classic and for very good reason!
oh wow home made goats cheese! I’d love to tuck into that!
Yes please! I could eat this til I popped 🙂
I love making labne! It always tastes so creamy and thick but I can’t believe it’s made out of yogurt! 😀
I have never in my life seen the fresh nutmegs….love your homemade goat cheese!!
I’ve never heard of pickled nutmeg before! What an interesting flavor that must have. 🙂 Your goat cheese is gorgeous. I’m making cheese today too – out of coconut milk! 🙂 I’m excited to see how it turns out. 🙂
Everything looks so good but that nutmeg! Who knew it was more than the little balls that you grate? 🙂
Your goat cheese and roasted tomatoes would suit me just fine!
What a beautiful and simple dish. I always love visiting here. You teach me so much!
Love the goats cheese Tania- I’d love a big splodge of it for my lunch too! Those nutmegs were an awesome find indeed, I love fooling around with quirky and new ingredients. Nutmeg juice sounds great, I would order it for sure. I have only ever heard of people using the nutmeg fruit to make jam, I really can’t wait to see what you do with it 🙂 xox
Never seen nutmeg like that before – and candied nutmeg? Who knew. Your goats cheese labne looks delish.
That’s a lovely looking pre-dinner snack. I have never seen nutmeg prepared like that so I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you cook/create with it. True! xx
Just perfect!
Tania, I have NEVER seen candied or pickled nutmeg fruit before! What an unusual ingredient! Can’t wait to see what you do with it! The goats cheese and tomatoes look delish! xx
Tania, that goat’s cheese looks fab.
I’m so intrigued by fresh walnuts!
Yum Tanya! TRUE!
I have also made goats cheese and love your recipe and photo too!
LOVE Penang and had never seen nutmeg like that…so thanks for allowing me to learn today something new!
Cheers! Joanne