Pressed Yogurt (Lebana)

Lebana is sometimes characterized as soft white cheese or cream cheese, but in fact, it's not really cheese at all. It's pressed yogurt that's used as spread in sandwiches or just as a dip with some pita. The word lebana stems from the word leban, which literally means yogurt.

Lebana would always be in our fridge growing up, to enjoy on Saturday mornings with the traditional spread of hummus,fool,hard boiled eggs, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and of course, pita bread!

• 750g (1 tub) of Balkan yogurt, 3% works best
• pinch of salt
• cheese cloth

For serving:

• extra virgin olive oil
  
• red pepper sauce

Stir the salt into the tub of yogurt. Place the cheese cloth into a colander and empty the yogurt into it. Put a catch plate underneath it to capture all the liquid. You may have to drain the plate 3-4 times over the course of the straining cycle. Let it drain for about 2 days in the refrigerator until the consistency is thick, similar to that of peanut butter. You'll Once complete, empty the lebana into a container and store in the fridge. It should last for about 8 days.

When ready to serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and some spicy red pepper sauce.