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Jan
When I did my recent post on labneh, I knew that it was well on its way to becoming a global ingredient. What I I didn’t expect was the level of interest the post would generate. It wasn’t so much the comments rather than the questions that I got from various people, including from my new best friend,ย young Mehran Gharleghi, a very talented young architect. Mehran was curious about labneh. He wanted to learn how to make it, and how to make the ‘bride’ which I had described in my post. So, I proposed a deal: I’d teach him how to make the ‘bride’ if he’d take the pictures for a post. He liked the deal and we arranged a time for him to come over. And as you will see from his photographs, he is also a talented photographer.
So, here is, in pictures, how to make your very own labneh ‘bride’.
First the mise en place. You will need markouk bread, labneh, very good olive oil (mine comes from Mary Taylor Simeti‘s farm and it is fabulous), sea salt, nice olives (I like to use both green & black which I buy from my favourite Lebanese shop, Zen), and fresh mint; as well as trimmed spring onion and Persian cucumbers to serve with the ‘bride’.
The first step is to open up the bread and fold it in half. It is too thin to use in one layer.
Then, put 3-4 tablespoons labneh in the middle of the bread. Season it with salt, drizzle a little olive oil and mix well — like my mother, I use a piece of bread from the thick edge to do this.
Then, spread the labneh all over the bread.
Quickly pit the olives (you can also do this beforehand) and arrange them in a single or double line down the middle — single line if you want your ‘bride’ย thin, or double line if you like it wide and flat. ร chacun son goรปt as they say. I normally do a double line for more olives and I arrange the mint leaves in between.
Now you are ready to roll your ‘bride’. My mother rolled it without folding the ends, leaving it to me to make sure that I didn’t let any labneh or olives slip out of the bottom. I prefer to fold a little of the bread both at the top and bottom over the olives to encase them. I also cut off and discard any thick edges on the sides — the markouk I buy in London is not as uniformly thin as the markouk I get in Beirut. Then, pick up one side of the bread and flap it over the olives and mint and roll the ‘bride’.
Cut in two halves, on the slant, for a nice presentation, and transfer onto a plate. Garnish with a few sprigs of mint and a couple of trimmed spring onion. Et voila, your very own labneh ‘bride’ which you can vary on by replacing the labneh with an olive oil potato mash flavoured with chopped basil or onion, or feta cheese and mint or whatever takes your fancy.
And as you can see, Mehran is very happy with his ‘bride’. I sent him off with a packet of markouk, olives and mint to make his own back home but he didn’t think his was up to scratch. He hadn’t made his own labneh with goat’s yoghurt, and he didn’t have any of Mary’s oil. Now he has both.
Tagged : 'aruss, bride, handkerchief bread, labneh, lebanese sandwiches, markouk, mary taylor simeti, mehran gharleghi 
17
There is 17 comments on this post
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January 31, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Looks like one very happy customer to me!
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January 31, 2010 at 8:58 pm
he definitely was…
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January 31, 2010 at 10:51 pm
What a lovely lunch.
Ever since I read your post I have been making my own labneh.
My husband loves it. Thank-you Anissa
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February 1, 2010 at 12:50 am
Labneh is my life..,,, lol… Anissa… I eat it everyday… your Arouss looks sooooo good. I use the greek Total yoghurt as labaneh. I can’t find the St Helen version here in Dubai.
Also the round dry labaneh preserved in oil that I bring from Jordan becomes too salty after some time . Do u know why?
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February 1, 2010 at 4:17 am
you’re welcome celeste. so glad you’re making your own and that your husband likes it. now he can have two brides!!
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February 1, 2010 at 4:18 am
i think it’s because it dries even more although it shouldn’t really if it’s covered in oil. often they colour the oil pretending it’s olive. i always take them out and put them in my own really good olive oil.
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February 1, 2010 at 8:05 am
ya.. I got the actual dried labaneh and made it into balls and preserved in my own good olive oil.. i do keep it in the fridge by the way… maybe that is not s good idea…. would u say there is no expiry date to it as it is preserved?
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February 1, 2010 at 8:34 am
Great deal! I love this arouss with the bi-colored olives and the neat row of mint leaves!
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February 1, 2010 at 12:44 pm
it was a good deal, and am glad you like my ‘aruss. it was yummy and reminded me of my school days.
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February 1, 2010 at 12:46 pm
no, i don’t think keeping it in the fridge is a problem. i also keep mine in the fridge and it lasts forever, but obviously not literally. perhaps one or two years?
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February 2, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Great Thanks Anissa and Happy Birthday!
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February 2, 2010 at 12:36 pm
thanks lara. glad to see your program is being aired on al-jazeera. will tell my jordanian friend.
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February 11, 2010 at 2:44 pm
In the Middle Ages, this kind of rolled sandwich was called awsat (I assume the literal meaning “middles” refers to the filling) or bazmawurd. It was served by cutting it into jelly-roll slices, so it was more a canape than a sandwich. It could also be made by slicing open and filling a loaf of tandoor bread and then cutting that into canapes.
The filling was apparently anything you wanted — olives, goat cheese, roast or stewed meat, toasted nuts, fresh herbs, pickled lemons or any combination.
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February 14, 2010 at 2:08 pm
My favorite sandwich of all time.. I just love it!! ๐
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February 28, 2010 at 9:46 pm
it looks beautiful, Anissa. labneh is probably one of my most favourite things in the whole wide world. i love your ‘bride’! x shayma
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February 28, 2010 at 10:30 pm
thanks shayma. so glad you like my ‘bride’. love your date cake. x
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March 2, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Oh my God Anissa , this is the best sandwich , Home made markouk , home made labneh and olives and tomato, green onions and Lebanese Cucumbers are to die for…
Oh my Lord… this is Real Food.
Thanks