Za’atar and Labneh Spaghetti

Hunted down some real Labneh at a grocer who had it, and glad I did. I’ve cooked with Greek yogurt before in similar dishes and can confirm that the texture and flavor of the real labneh was different than cooking with yogurt. It was richer and more flavorful. Added diced zucchini to the hot oil for one minute before adding the garlic. Added fresh large-diced tomatoes and cherry tomatoes near end of garlic cooking time, before adding the pasta and water. Delicious.

Sarah, the za’atar is added once the pasta is plated. My question is “1/2 cup of za’atar? Really?”

You can make your own richer Labneh by pouring the yogurt into a coffee filter and letting it drip off the liquid. Takes about 15-30 mins. Worth the wait. A few layers of cheesecloth will also work. You can also add nighella (Black sesame seeds they are sometimes called) for additional flavor.

Easy, yummy, bright, creamy, delicious. Can’t get enough of this pasta. I subbed 1/4 cup diced onion instead of the garlic and it turned out great. Such an easy and adaptable recipe. Love, love, love!

I made this recipe for one cutting all quantities in half and it was quite good, using only Greek yogurt and TJ’s Za’atar spices I already had. It’s a simple meal, so good olive oil takes this dish a long way. Lemon juice for garnish really helped this dish not feel so heavy, because it’s quite filling.

Hot yogurt spaghetti? No. We threw it out. It was like baby spit-up. (Sorry!) And yes, I used real lebneh. Shudder.

Pasta is sold in 16 ounce boxes. Are cooks supposed to weigh the right amount of pasta for these recipes and discard the rest?

all the haters are clearly delusional. this is one of the simplest and yummiest pasta's you will ever make. if you want to be a lil extra crazy, i would suggest a frying up some garlic in olive oil on the side and adding some breadcrumbs, parsley, and a little pecorino for an additional topping. and yes, 1/2 a cup of za'atar is needed.

You don't have to throw out the unused portion of a box of dried pasta. It's dry! Put a rubber band on the box and save it. It lasts a very long time.

Feeling solidly okay about this dish. There’s this macarona b’Laban dish that we do with garlic, ground beef (fried with fresh cumin), and parsley that absolutely slaps, and this is definitely adjacent to this but hits the comfort food button a little less hard. Would definitely give this to the kiddos on a busy night though for sure.

Although skeptical at first, my family loved how rich and tasty this was--and how easy it was to make, if you carefully follow the directions. Zaatar and Labneh are two of my favorite ingredients so I had high hopes. The only place where I strayed from the recipe was to mix half the Zaatar into the pasta before taking it off the heat and spreading the remainder on the individual plates. I've saved this one!

What would be the point??

The Z&Z za’atar uses: wild thyme (za’atar), sesame seeds, sumac, and salt; with the wild thyme being the main ingredient. The Spicely Organics uses: sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, marjoram, and savory, with the s/s as the main. The Z&Z is more authentic and can be an acquired taste, would recommend halving to a quarter cup if using and adjusting before serving.

For another level of flavor and some crunch I added lightly-browned pine nuts that I sautéed separately then added along with the labneh.

I made this as a cold pasta salad, spooning the labneh/zatar into cooked bow ties along with roasted red peppers, pepper flakes, chopped red onion, cucumber, pinches of fennel and cumin seeds, and some barely cooked cold zucchini. Topped with a generous grinding of pepper and pinch of fresh sumac- delicious!