Easy homemade labneh cheese with De Winkel Yoghurt, honey, orange blossom water, pistachios and macerated mandarins.

Serve it as a dip on a cheese platter. Or as a killer dessert for breakfast, rich in protein and vitamin C. It’s great on bagels, toast, or crackers as well.

Thanks to De Winkel I’ve been able to get involved in September’s fantastic Bee Aware Month NZ! I’m so honoured to be a part of this project. 
Why are bees important – The Honey Bee is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one-third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination from bees. These cute little animals prepare everything from apples and zucchini to blueberries and almonds.

Since the late 1990s, beekeepers around the world have observed the mysterious and sudden disappearance of bees, and report unusually high rates of decline in Honey Bee colonies. The bees are under threat in a number of ways from Varroa mite, a tiny bug that breeds in hives and weakens bees, and other endemic viruses and bacteria to habitat degradation.
Many people are doing their bit to help bees, especially in their gardens. Thank you, De Winkel and Apiculture NZ for the beautiful bee friendly wildflower seed mix (see my stories). Spring is already here and this is the perfect time for planting flowers for our little friends.

To support this project and inspire people to plant flowers for bees, I’ve created this spring recipe with De Winkel Yoghurt, honey, flowers and fruits.
Labneh is Middle Eastern soft cheese made from strained yoghurt. A little tangy and super creamy. I have to say that it’s incredibly delicious when made from De Winkel Yoghurt, which is an all-natural yoghurt with no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, thickeners or other additives. De Winkel Yoghurt contains acidophilus, a probiotic culture. And it’s low in fat as well, the perfect spring treat.

It takes only a couple of steps to make this easy recipe.

Easy homemade labneh cheese with honey, orange blossom water, pistachios and macerated mandarins.

Recipe by Leno RegushCourse: Dessert, BreakfastCuisine: Middle Eastern, ModernDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Serve it as a dip on a cheese platter. Or as a killer dessert for breakfast, rich in protein and vitamin C. It’s great on bagels, toast, or crackers as well.

Ingredients

• 1 L. De Winkel All Natural Plain Unsweetened Yoghurt

• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water

• 2 Tablespoons J.Friend and Co. Pohutukawa honey

• pinch of salt

• toasted and chopped pistachios

• mint leaves

• For macerated mandarins:

• 2-3 mandarins

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 Tablespoon honey

Directions

• Combine yoghurt with salt. Pour the yoghurt into a cheesecloth. Pick up the edges, tie at the top and transfer to the refrigerator, hanging cheesecloth over a big bowl. Leave for an about 6 hours, giving the yoghurt plenty of time to drain off its excess water (I usually leave it overnight).
• For macerated mandarins. Peel mandarins and cut into circles, drizzle with honey and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Transfer the labneh cheese to a bowl, add the orange blossom water and honey, mix well.
• To serve, spread cheese on a platter and top with macerated mandarins, chopped toasted pistachios, and mint leaves. Drizzle with honey-mandarin juices. Enjoy!