Confit Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic Labneh Crostini with Zaatar

Now that we’re slowly coming out of lockdown, and summer is on it’s way - picnics, bbq’s, dinner parties… will be happening a lot more. I’ve come up with perfect bites of summery goodness. Confit tomatoes make the fruits taste even better - the umami comes out, as well as their sweetness, the creamy roasted garlic labneh complements it so well and the crunchy toasted bread texturally brings it all together. Zaatar adds that extra herbal element missing from the dish - my favourite Zaatar is a Palestinian blend from Zaytoun, there are many different blends that come from the various countries in the levant, each with their own twist, use the one you like best.

TIP: You will have extra olive oil from the confit tomatoes - use this oil in salad dressings, avocado on toast, drizzle onto hummus etc…

Prep/cooking time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients

170g greek yogurt

200g cherry tomatoes

1 mild red chilli, halved lengthways

4 cloves of garlic, skin on

1/2 cup (100g) olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 Baguette, cut into slices diagonally or any other crust bread cut into slices

1 tbsp zaatar

salt

Method

1. Place a strainer lined with kitchen paper over a bowl. Place the yogurt in the strainer and leave it to drain for 30-40 mins - this will make some quick labneh, you can leave it to strain overnight in the fridge for a thicker consistency.

2. Pre-heat the oven to fan 200°C. Place the tomatoes, chilli, garlic, olive oil, bay leaf in an ovenproof dish, season with salt. Bake the tomatoes for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender and have burst.

3. Toast the slices of bread. In a small bowl add the zaatar with enough oil to make a paste - you want it to be a drizzling consistency.

4. When the tomatoes have baked, remove the garlic cloves and squish out the flesh, crush into a paste and mix it into the labneh. Season with some of the oil that the tomatoes have baked in - the more oil you add in the looser the labneh will get.

5. Smear some roasted garlic labneh onto each piece of bread, top with a few tomatoes and a drizzle of zaatar, serve still warm or at room temp.