A modified Bon Appètit recipe, original here. | Photos by Riley Ziesig.
Boring snack platters, be gone! Don't just throw a bunch of baby carrots and ranch dressing out at your next party. Dazzle everyone with a board of labneh and vegetables you wouldn't normally see on a crudités platter.
The idea came from a Bon Appètit recipe for labneh, which is Greek yogurt, strained into a cheese. Instead of preserved lemon, I used a few slices of candied lemon. Labneh isn't so widespread in grocery stores yet, but you are in luck, it is very easy to make.
All you need is a mesh strainer, a bowl, yogurt and cheese cloth.
Place the strainer in the bowl, it will catch the whey that comes out of the yogurt. Line the strainer completely with cheese cloth, make sure there is extra flowing over the sides. Plop yogurt over the cheese cloth, be careful not to fill past the top of the strainer. Wrap the cheese cloth over the yogurt. Leave the whole contraption in the fridge for two days. If your strainer touches the bottom of your bowl, you'll need to pour out the whey into a jar every couple of hours. Whey is great for constituting beans, by the way!
When it is time to arrange your board, go for hearty vegetables that can carry a thick dip like labneh. You also want to strategically place everything so that the dip doesn't flow off the board.
I love french radishes because they are narrow and have great edible greens. Fennel is fun because the lemon from the dip mellows out the licorice flavor. It doesn't have to be all vegetables, too. Crusty bread is fun to pull apart and scoop.
I want to see if you try this! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram if you do.