Oven Roasted Vegetables with Vegan Labneh
Have you ever had the feeling that you’re missing out on something in between the consistency of spreadable vegan cream cheese and a very smooth plant-based yogurt – something like a extra smooth cream cheese? Then labneh is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a staple of Levant cuisine and used as a spread or dip.
The homemade version (even the vegan one) us actually quite easy, but requires some patience. In ordert o lose liquid, you need to drain your plant-based yogurt of choice. The more liquidy the yogurt is, the longer this process takes, but it also depends on your own taste and how smooth (or „dry“ your vegan labneh should be), so it’s best to prepare this by instinct. Feel free to take a first look at it once the yogurt has drained overnight. Most plant-based yogurts should need between 24-48 hours – depending on the consistency you prefer. The longer the yogurt drains, the „firmer“ the vegan labneh will be. If you have any remaining labneh, store it in an airtight container. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Labneh is traditionally served with olive oil and za’atar – a spice mixture made of wild thyme, roasted sesame seeds, salt, and sumach among else. We decided to also top it with golden brown fried slices of garlic, freshly grated lemon zest, chopped parsley, and roasted hazelnuts. You can either keep it the classic way, follow our recipe, or go for different nuts, herbs, or spices of your choice.
For the oven roasted vegetables we used the produce we just had in our kitchen, but of course, depending on the season and your taste, you can basically pick any vegetables for this dish. In autumn, especially now in October, there is a great variety of seasonal vegetables from local farming available, including eggplants, green beans, broccoli, leek, parsnips, beetroot, black salsify, rutabaga, Jerusalem artichokes, and, of course, pumpkin.
For an extra crunch we wanted to serve this dish with some crispy bread and picked the __Delicate Rounds Sesame & Sea Salt __ by Wasa. The round slices of crispbread are slightly thicker than classic crispbread which makes them perfect for spreads or for dipping them in our vegan labneh (of course you could also eat them plain as a snack). Their flavor of roasted sesame seeds and sea salt matched our vegan labneh great as the spice is nicely balanced and not overwhelming.
We particularly like that Wasa has been engaging with the topic of sustainability for many years and is constantly implementing new measures in this regard. Wasa is already 100% carbon-neutral*, because they not only constantly reduce their own carbon footprint (they reduced their CO2 emissions by 82% since 2010), but also compensate all remaining emissions, e.g. through projects to preserve the rainforest. They obtain all their electricity from renewable energy sources and use locally produced rye in Germany only. Furthermore, their packaging is 100% recyclable using paper packaging from certified sustainable forestry.
*CO2 neutrality according to the standard PAS 2060:2014. It’s achieved by both Wasa's own energy and CO2 saving measures and through financial compensation via certified projects of the verified carbon standard program. You can find further information on this topic at www.wasaco2.com.
Oven Roasted Vegetables with Vegan Labneh
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables:
- 250 g (9 oz) cauliflower
- 3 carrots
- 2 bell peppers
- 10 Brussel sprouts
- 3 onions
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
For vegan labneh:
- 1000 g (4 cups) plant-based yogurt (unsweetened)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 50 g (2 oz) hazelnuts
- olive oil
- salt
For the topping:
- olive oil
- fresh parsley
- za’atar
- lemon zest
For serving:
- crispy bread (e.g. Wasa Delicate Rounds Sesame & Sea Salt)
Instructions
To prepare vegan labneh start by ligthly salting your plant-based yogurt. Take out a deep, larger bowl and place a fine sieve on top. Cover the sieve with a clean kitchen towel, then add the plant-based yogurt into the sieve, right on top of the kitchen towel. Refrigerate for approx. 24 hours. The consistency should change to a smooth cream cheese. If the desired texture isn’t reached after 24 hours, refrigerate for a few more hours or up to another 24 hours. After 48 hours, the plant-based yogurt should definitely have lost most of its liquid.
Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (circulating air). In the meantime, cut all of your vegetables. Chop cauliflower and carrots. Cut bell pepper into stripes. Halve the Brussels sprouts and peel and quarter onions.
Transfer all the vegetables to a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for approx. 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened but still have some bite.
While the vegetbales bake, remove the drained plant-based yogurt from your fridge and spread it on a large platter for serving.
Peel and finely slice garlic. Add some olive oil in a small frying pan, directly add the garlic, and fry for approx. 5 minutes over medium-low heat until the garlic slices are golden brown. Parallelly roast hazelnuts in a fat-free frying pan. Afterwards, roughly chop them. Finely chop parsley for serving.
Drizzle olive oil over your vegan labneh and sprinkle with chopped parsley, za’atar, fried garlic slices, freshly grated lemon zest, and roasted hazelnuts. Add your oven roasted vegetables to the platter as well and serve the dish with crispy bread.
