Spicy Levantine Cheese Balls

Shanklish

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Preparation info
  • Makes about

    32

    golf-ball-size pieces
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 2014

  • About

Sun-drying laban—a fresh cheese made by straining yogurt—was one means, before the invention of cold storage, to preserve perishable dairy products. The cheese was shaped into balls and then rolled in an aromatic mix of seasonings—za’atar, red pepper flakes, or a mixture of local herbs and spices—and then dried completely until rock-hard, finally ready for extended storage in clay jars.

These fermented, extremely pungent shanklish balls are a multipurpose spice in thei