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Shanklish

The curd balls are left to grow a mould, then washed, dried and rolled in za'atar — the mould is the method, not a mistake.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (whole milk), dairy (yoghurt).

Ingredients

the curd

to coat

to serve

Method

  1. THE CURD BALLS ARE LEFT TO GROW A MOULD, THEN WASHED, DRIED AND ROLLED IN ZA'ATAR -- and the mould is the method, not a mistake. This is the step that will feel wrong and it is the whole cheese. Drained sour curd is salted, rolled into balls the size of a plum, and left in a warm airy place for a week or two until each one has grown a fuzzy grey-white bloom all over. Then they are washed under running water -- the bloom comes away -- dried again, and rolled in the spice coating. What that fortnight does is ferment and ripen the curd: a fresh ball tastes of mild sour milk and nothing else, while a ripened one is sharp, pungent and faintly blue-cheesy, which is the point of making it at all.
  2. IT IS A DRY WARM PLACE WITH MOVING AIR, NOT A DAMP ONE. On a rack, uncovered, somewhere around 20°C with air getting all round each ball. Damp or airless and they go slimy and black rather than growing an even dry bloom, and a slimy ball is thrown away rather than washed.
  3. THEY ARE TURNED EVERY DAY OR TWO. So they dry evenly and no face stays damp against the rack. A ball with one wet side will spoil from it.
  4. THE CURD MUST BE DRAINED MUCH DRIER THAN IT LOOKS LIKE IT SHOULD BE. Hung in muslin for a full day until it is stiff enough to roll without sticking. Wet curd will not hold a ball and will not ripen -- it simply rots.
  5. THEY ARE SALTED HARD. Two tablespoons for three litres of milk's worth of curd. Salt is most of what keeps the wrong organisms out over the fortnight, and an under-salted batch is the usual reason one goes bad.
  6. THE COATING GOES ON AFTER WASHING AND DRYING, NEVER BEFORE. A damp ball rolled in za'atar makes a paste that traps moisture and the whole thing spoils underneath. Washed, then left to dry properly for a day, then rolled.
  7. The milk warmed to blood heat, the yoghurt whisked in, and left covered somewhere warm 12 HOURS until set and sour.
  8. Brought gently to about 80°C, stirring, until it separates into curds and whey. Taken off at once.
  9. Strained through muslin and HUNG a FULL DAY, until the curd is stiff enough to roll without sticking.
  10. Worked with the salt and rolled into plum-sized balls.
  11. Set on a rack, UNCOVERED, in a DRY WARM AIRY place around 20°C.
  12. TURNED every day or two, and left 10 to 14 DAYS until each has grown an even fuzzy GREY-WHITE bloom.
  13. Any ball that has gone slimy or black DISCARDED.
  14. WASHED under running water until the bloom comes away, then dried on a rack a FULL DAY.
  15. Rolled in the za'atar, chilli and thyme mixed together.
  16. TESTED: a cut ball should be firm, sharp and pungent. Bland means it did not ripen long enough.
  17. Served broken up with olive oil, tomato and onion. Keeps 2 months in a jar under oil.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Lebanon · All recipes