Labneh, Summer Greens and Sumac bread Salad

Directions

• Start by making the labneh. Spread a clean tea towel out onto your work surface. To the tub of yoghurt, add ½ a tsp of salt and the zest of half a lemon. Stir well.
• Empty the yoghurt out onto the tea towel and bring the four corners together. Tie the tea towel either to the tap over the sink, or somewhere convenient that you can leave it in a sieve with a bowl underneath. It should look like one of those hanging lunchboxes on a stick that they have in cartoons.
• Allow the labneh to hang and strain – depending on the thickness of the yoghurt you started with, this may take from 30 mins to 2 hours. Ultimately, you want a consistency between Greek yoghurt and cream cheese.
• Peel and finely slice your onions. Peel your cloves of garlic and crush them gently.
  Add 100ml of olive oil to a saucepan and place over a low heat. Add the onion, garlic and a large pinch of salt, then allow to sizzle gently for at least 20 mins until very soft and golden, but not too browned. Discard the garlic, and set the onions and all the cooking oil aside to cool.
• While the onions cook, prepare the vegetables. Use a box grater to grate the courgette into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt, mix and set aside.
• Slice the bottom off thebaby gem lettuce and separate the leaves into a large mixing bowl. Slice the artichokes into quarters and add to the bowl along with the baby gem.
• Open up the pitta breads so you have two thin layers of bread, then tear them into roughly 2-inchsquares (they don’t have to be neat).
• Put a frying pan over a medium heat, add your butter and a tbsp of olive oil. Once hot, add the pitta bread and fry until golden and crunchy. Take off the heat and add a pinch of salt, a tsp of chilli flakes and a tsp of sumac and toss well. Set aside to cool.
• Pop the pan back over a medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Give the grated courgette a squeeze, then add them to the pan. Move it around and let it fry for 3 or 4 mins. Set aside to cool, then repeat with the peas.
• To assemble, mix the now-cooled onions and their cooking oil into the labneh. Add the peas and courgettes to the bowl with the baby gem and artichokes, a pinch of salt, the juice of 1 lemon. Add the labneh and mix well to coat everything.
  
  Just before you’re ready to serve, mix through the pitta (keep a few to sprinkle on top). Finish with lots of chopped mint, plenty of sumac and olive oil. Serve and enjoy!