labneh

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Behold: another wonderful use for precious sourdough discard, this time in a flatbread/pancake form. This sourdough artichoke pancake with spicy tomato labneh is filled with herbs and artichoke hearts and fried up to a beautiful crispness. Feel free to mix and match different herbs and spices, but the below combination works quite well. The savory artichokes, fragrant chives and parsley, and spicy tomato labneh, make this sourdough artichoke pancake a tasty snack or satisfying meal. 

ingredients

for the artichoke pancake

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • ½ cup artichoke hearts, diced
  • 1 tablespoon chives
  • 1 tablespoon parsley
  • ½ cup sourdough discard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

for the tomato labneh

  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • ¼ cup labneh
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

artichoke pancake steps

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an 8-inch pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2-4 minutes, until golden. Add the diced artichoke heart, chives, and parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Swirl it around so that it evenly coats the pan. Pour the sourdough discard into the pan and add the salt and pepper. Let it cook until the edges begin to brown, about 4 minutes, then add the garlic and artichokes. Cook for another 4 minutes then flip and cook for another 4 minutes until the edges are crisp and golden. The pancake will puff up as it cooks.

tomato labneh steps

Mix the tomato sauce, labneh, and crushed red pepper until evenly combined. Serve chilled alongside the artichoke pancake.

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It seems like everything finds its way onto toast these days, and that is something to celebrate. I love mixing and matching different flavor combinations and toppings, and that is what I did here with this fig and labneh toast with arugula, caramelized onion, and pine nuts. 

I used dried figs because it is most definitely not fig season right now and the dried fruit adds an additional texture to the fig and labneh toast. The dried fig and caramelized red onion complement each other in a sweet and savory vibe layered on the tangy labneh and finished with peppery arugula and fragrant pine nuts. Feel free to toast your bread in batches in the toaster, but I find it is easiest to toast all of the slices at once on a sheet pan. Up to you! This fig and labneh toast with arugula, caramelized onion, and pine nuts can be served as a delicious appetizer or a full meal!

ingredients

  • 4 slices sourdough bread, cut ⅓-inch thick and halved
  • 1 medium red onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup labneh
  • 1 cup arugula
  • ½ cup dried figs, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

steps

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay the slices of bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toast for 4 minutes, flip then toast for another 4 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and all the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to redistribute the onions over the heat, until they become caramelized.

Working with one slice at a time, spread a thin layer of labneh over the bread then immediately top with arugula, dried figs, and a few pine nuts. Repeat until all of the slices have been dressed. 

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You have probably heard of or seen hasselback potatoes, which are a style of preparing potatoes born from the Hasselbacken restaurant in Sweden. The concept involves slicing the potatoes, but not all the way through, so that the bottom strip remains attacked and the top pieces splay outward, becoming crisp on the top and creamy on the inside as the potatoes bake. Here, I have taken that concept and applied it to eggplant while stuffing the gaps with a flavorful turkey tomato sauce for stuffed hasselback eggplant with garlic herb labneh.

Making hasselback eggplant is a fun and different way to switch up eggplant preparation. This stuffed hasselback eggplant is a satisfying and complete meal which I would suggest having as a main course, on its own, with rice, or with some crusty bread. The hasselback eggplant cooks through and absorbs much of the flavor from the meat sauce. I used ground turkey to keep it lighter, but feel free to use ground pork, beef, or lamb or a combination!

ingredients

for the eggplant

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium eggplants
  • 2 teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 teaspoons aleppo pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 teaspoons parsley (dried or fresh is fine), divided
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

for the labneh

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) labneh
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chives
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

eggplant steps

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Heat a skillet over medium-high and add the turkey. Cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Don’t worry about undercooking here as the turkey will continue cooking later in the oven. 

As the turkey browns, place a wooden spoon alongside the front and back of an eggplant, lengthwise (see photo) and cut ¼ inch pieces horizontally along the eggplant. The wooden spoons will prevent from cutting all the way through the eggplant so that there will be a strip still attached at the bottom. This is the hasselback style. Repeat with the second eggplant then drizzle the insides of each with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ of the freshly ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, remove the turkey from the pan, place it in a medium bowl, and set it aside. Add the olive oil to the pan that the turkey cooked in then add the onions and cook for about 4 minutes until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another 4 minutes. Return the cooked turkey to the pan and add the tomato sauce. Mix in the aleppo pepper, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the parsley. Then add the pine nuts.

Spoon small amounts of the meat sauce in between the sliced eggplant until it is evenly distributed.

Bake for 45 minutes until the eggplant is tender. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of parsley.

labneh steps

Combine the labneh and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Add in the grated garlic parsley and chives and mix then add the salt and freshly ground pepper.