Savoury and sweet at once, and it does the work of three dishes on a table.
Ingredients
Labneh
2 lb labneh (about 4 cups)
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to finish
Juice of ½ lemon; salt
Apple compote
6 apples, peeled and diced
1 cinnamon stick, 3 cracked green cardamom pods
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp maple syrup, or none — the apples are usually sweet enough
Splash of water
To finish
Sumac, toasted sesame seeds, parsley or mint, olive oil
Method
1. Compote, the night before
Apples, cinnamon stick, cardamom, lemon and a splash of water. Covered, low heat, 12–15 min, until they slump but still hold some shape. Baby’s plain spoonfuls out now, before any sweetener. Fish out the stick and the pods.
2. Labneh, the night before
Whip with olive oil, lemon and salt until light. A whisk and two minutes.
3. In the morning
Labneh across a wide platter in a thick swoosh. Warm the compote gently and spoon it over the middle. Olive oil, sumac, sesame, herbs.
Warm compote on cold labneh is the point. Never heat the labneh.
Notes
Baby portion: plain labneh and unsweetened compote, no salt, no sumac
Greek yogurt strained through a cloth for a few hours makes labneh if you run short
Keeps 3 days separately. Assemble only what will be eaten — the platter does not keep