The recipe for corn couscous salad with Labneh is dedicated to the movie “Dune: Part 2” nominated for 5 Oscars in 2025, including Best Picture, for the Oscar Menu.
The film is the second part of the cinematic adaptation of the novel of the same name (1965) by Frank Herbert, the first chapter of the Dune Cycle, and a sequel to the movie “Dune” (2021).
The plot tells of the ecological challenge between the Atreides and Harkonnen dynasties for control of Arrakis, a desert planet, the only place for the production, harvesting, and refining of Melange (or Spice), a precious substance essential to the structure of galactic society.
The Labneh is a type of yogurt that is white in color, which has been strained to remove most of the whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than regular yogurt.
It is typical of the cuisines of the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine), Armenia, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula, made with sheep’s or cow’s milk, occasionally also with goat’s milk (the Lebanese one is called anbariz).
Anciently, nomads put yogurt in skins, in which, over time, the contained water was filtered out, seeping through the pores, until a paste remained to which salt was added for preservation.
It is a common breakfast sauce and is usually spread on a plate and drizzled with olive oil and often dried mint or paired as a sauce with the za’atar herb mix.
The corn couscous is the gluten-free version of the traditional dish from North Africa and western Sicily, made of steamed semolina grains.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 containers whole Greek yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- to taste mint
- to taste pitted black olives
- to taste olive oil
- 5.3 oz precooked corn couscous
- to taste baharat
- to taste mint
- to taste parsley
- 1 lemon (only zest)
- 0.35 oz pistachios
- to taste olive oil
Tools
- 1 cheesecloth
Steps
In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt and salt.
Pour the mixture over a layer of cheesecloth (or 2 layers, depending on the thickness of the yogurt). Gather the edges of the cheesecloth, tie around a wooden spoon, and position the spoon over the top of a medium bowl so that the labneh hangs in the center but does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Let it strain overnight.
Remove the labneh from the cheesecloth.Transfer to a bowl and season with olive oil, mint, and black olives.
Toast the pistachios.
Prepare the couscous as indicated on the package.
Season with olive oil, chopped mint and parsley, grated lemon zest, and baharat mix. Finally, garnish with spoonfuls of labneh and pistachios.
Notes on Strained Yogurt
Strained yogurt is usually marketed in North America as “Greek yogurt” and in the United Kingdom as “Greek-style yogurt”.
Since the straining process removes some of the lactose, strained yogurt has a lower sugar content than non-strained yogurt.
Bedouins also produce a dry and hard labneh (labaneh malboudeh, similar to Central Asian qurut): the strained labneh is pressed in cheesecloth between two heavy stones and then dried in the sun. It can then be mixed with khubz (Arab bread), water, animal fat, and salt, and rolled into balls.
Bedouins also produce a dry and hard labneh (labaneh malboudeh, similar to Central Asian qurut): the strained labneh is pressed in cheesecloth between two heavy stones and then dried in the sun. It can then be mixed with khubz (Arab bread), water, animal fat, and salt, and rolled into balls.
In Egypt, strained yogurt is eaten with accompaniments such as olives and oil, and also with a sweetener like honey, as a snack or breakfast food.
Areesh cheese (or arish, Arabic: جبنة قريش) is a type of cheese originating from Egypt, made from yogurt slowly heated until it curdles and separates, then placed in cheesecloth to drain. It has a taste similar to cottage cheese.
Areesh cheese (or arish, Arabic: جبنة قريش) is a type of cheese originating from Egypt, made from yogurt slowly heated until it curdles and separates, then placed in cheesecloth to drain. It has a taste similar to cottage cheese.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What are the variations of labneh in the Middle East?
In Turkish markets, labneh is also a popular dairy product, but it is different from strained yogurt; it is a creamy yogurt-based cheese without salt used like mascarpone.
In the cuisines of many Iranian and Turkic peoples (e.g., Afghan, Tatar, Tajik, Uzbek, and other Central Asian cuisines), a type of strained yogurt called chak(k)a or suzma is consumed.
It is obtained by straining qatiq, a local variety of yogurt.
Sometimes water is added in the preparation of cacık, when it is not eaten as a meze but consumed as a drink.
It is usually used in Turkish meze and sauces like haydari.
With further drying, qurut, a type of dry fresh cheese, is obtained.
In Iran, it is called mâst chekide and is usually used to make sauces or served as a side dish.
Labneh is the main ingredient of jameed cheese, used in mansaf: the national dish of Jordan made with lamb cooked in a jameed sauce and served with rice or bulgur.
Dune is available to watch on Prime Video or in DVD and purchase Parts 1 and 2 in a box setDVD or just Part 2 on DVD.
