Shankleesh

[Kibbee Nayee]

My mother used to make her own shankleesh, a Syrian cheese ball that was very labor-intensive. But man oh man, was it worth it. These incredibly flavorful and pungent cheeses were the perfect accompaniment to scrambled eggs, and could stand on their own in a dip made from crumbling them and mixing them with diced onions, olive oil, and maybe some crumbled hard boiled eggs.

In my travels around the area, I have found it shrink-wrapped from 'factories' in Paterson NJ or Toronto, or pickled in jars under the Baroody brand, but have yet to find a store-made or home-made version anywhere around here. Although, once, at Al Nakheel in Vienna, I recall a conversation where the proprietor exclaimed "Why you no buy my shankleesh?" but I forget the context.

Trust me, once you try it, it will forever reside on your irresistible tastes list....if I had to do my Board Name all over again, it would be Shankleesh.....or Zaatar.....

[KMango]

My mother used to make her own shankleesh, a Syrian cheese ball that was very labor-intensive. But man oh man, was it worth it. These incredibly flavorful and pungent cheeses were the perfect accompaniment to scrambled eggs, and could stand on their own in a dip made from crumbling them and mixing them with diced onions, olive oil, and maybe some crumbled hard boiled eggs.

In my travels around the area, I have found it shrink-wrapped from 'factories' in Paterson NJ or Toronto, or pickled in jars under the Baroody brand, but have yet to find a store-made or home-made version anywhere around here. Although, once, at Al Nakheel in Vienna, I recall a conversation where the proprietor exclaimed "Why you no buy my shankleesh?" but I forget the context.

Trust me, once you try it, it will forever reside on your irresistible tastes list....if I had to do my Board Name all over again, it would be Shankleesh.....or Zaatar.....

Have you tried the version at Lebanese Taverna, the original location on Washington Blvd?

I'm pretty sure they make it in house. And when it's on, it's mOaN.

[ol_ironstomach]

In my travels around the area, I have found it shrink-wrapped from 'factories' in Paterson NJ or Toronto, or pickled in jars under the Baroody brand, but have yet to find a store-made or home-made version anywhere around here.

Wait a minute, didn't we have shankleesh at the Layalina blowout earlier this year? Granted, they served it as a flattened layer on a shared plate instead of formed into individual balls, but...man, that was delicious stuff, with all of those flavors compounded into the cheese.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Wait a minute, didn't we have shankleesh at the Layalina blowout earlier this year? Granted, they served it as a flattened layer on a shared plate instead of formed into individual balls, but...man, that was delicious stuff, with all of those flavors compounded into the cheese.

You are correct, Sir. We did and it was enjoyable.

But I don't believe it was made by Rima. [The process from end-to-end takes a good six weeks.] It had the look and feel of the shankleesh purchased from Paterson or Toronto. Not that there is anything wrong with that -- I have two balls in my fridge from Paterson right now -- but I'm looking for the home made delicacy.

I remember back in the '80s, when a friend of mine had scored a precious few balls from her mother in Philadelphia, and I had just returned from my mother's house with a few balls from her. I invited my friend over for dinner and we had a nice meal, and then she sprang her surprise of shankleesh on me. I was elated, of course, but then I retrieved a few balls of my mother's shankleesh, and we had a ball comparing the two. Both were out of this world.