Smoking labne sounds naughty, because it is. We first tasted it at NOPI restaurant in London and it blew our dairy-loving minds. We had to learn how to make it! So we did (from NOPI’s chef de partie, in fact). Now, you can too. It’s a homespun technique, so you likely have everything on hand (aka no fancy equipment required). We love it with gigante beans and greens, fried eggs and as part of a mezze platter.
If you think smoking at home sounds scary, think again; it’s scary simple.
You’ll need:
2 cups plain labne (simply strained; no need to mix in any of the additional ingredients!)
¼ cup loose dark tea leaves (Oolong works well here)
Peel of 1 whole lemon and 1 whole orange
1 large pot
1 strainer (we use a steamer basket and it works great)
Aluminum foil
Add the tea leaves, lemon and orange peel to the pot and cover the mixture itself (not the top of the pot) with a foil tent. Heat the pot on medium-high until the tea mixture starts smoking, about 8 minutes (you’ll smell it before you see it). Remove the foil and add a few drops of water. Plop the labne into the strainer and spread it with a spatula, place the strainer over the smoking mixture and cover the pot entirely with foil or a lid. Let it smoke on medium-high heat for about 7 minutes (it goes from not-smoky to smoky very quickly, so keep watch and taste often!).
Remove the labne from the heat to let it cool and set. Stir through a few tablespoons of olive oil and any aromatics or spices you’d like. Flavor ideas: lemon juice and zest, cumin and smoked paprika, cinnamon and black pepper.
Pour a glug of olive oil into a jar, spoon in the labne, and top with another splash of olive oil. It’ll keep this way for a week in the fridge.