The easy stovetop harissa-spiced tomato sauce is the perfect accompaniment to creamy labneh. And the crunchy pine nuts and earthy nigella seeds turn this labneh dip into an instant crowd-pleaser.
Servings4
Equipment
- Skillet – I use a 10-inch cast-iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1½ cups labneh
- 1 teaspoon nigella seeds , or cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
Harissa-spiced tomato sauce
- 2 heaped cups cherry tomatoes , or other small tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil , divided
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed with the flat side of a knife and then sliced
- 1½ tablespoon rose harissa
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
To serve
- flaked Maldon salt , or regular sea salt (to taste)
- flatbread, pita bread or toasted sourdough
Instructions
- Spread the labneh across a shallow serving bowl or plate. Use the back of a large spoon to swirl waves into the labneh. Set it aside while you make the tomato sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Once hot, toast the nigella seeds and pine nuts until golden, stirring or shaking the pan often – about 1 minute. Transfer the toasted nuts and spices to a small bowl to cool down.
- Return the skillet to the stove and increase the heat to high. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until slightly charred – about 5 minutes – shaking the pan now and then.
- Turn the heat down to medium, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil with the sliced garlic. Cook for another minute until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the rose harissa paste, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and salt. Mix well.
- Squash roughly half the tomatoes with the back of your spatula. And cook until you have a sweet and sticky tomato sauce with a few whole cherry tomatoes – approximately 3 minutes. Then stir through another tablespoon of olive oil to loosen the sauce.
- Spoon the warm and spicy burst cherry tomato sauce over the thick and creamy labneh. Scatter with the pine nuts, toasted nigella seeds (or cumin) and a pinch of flaked salt. And serve immediately with flatbread, pita bread or toasted sourdough.
Notes
- You can also serve this labneh dip with room-temperature tomato sauce. Just leave the burst tomatoes to cool to room temperature before you assemble the appetiser. You can make the sauce a day ahead.
- If you don't have labneh, you can serve the spicy burst cherry tomato sauce on thick Greek yoghurt as Yotam Ottolenghi does.