Labneh and lacto fermentation

The beautiful colours of candy beetroot are worth preserving if possible and most processes do dull or spoil the colour.

One method which preserves the vegetables colour and texture best is fermentation.

We decided to try lacto fermentation using the whey from greek style yoghurt.

To get the whey from the yogurt you put the yoghurt in muslin in a seive and weight down with something overnight.

In the morning you can then roll the strained yoghurt into balls which we decided to rollin a pistacio dukkha.

They taste great with north african style dished, we had ours with spiced freekah and pomegranate glazed lamb shoulder.

As for the beetroot, its pretty straight forward.

1. Make a brine with about a tea spoon of salt per cup of filtered water.Allow to cool

2. Pack the beetroot into sterilised jars with tight fitting lids

3. To the liquid add a teaspoon of the whey per cup(250ml) of liquid and pour over the beets, make sure they are fully covered.

4. Leave out of the fridge for a few days till they are fizzing a bit and the pressure is building up in the jar.

5. The rest is up to taste, the longer you leave them the stronger they become.