07 April 2013

Supermarkets of Mystery ~ Shanklish - Gima Supermarket Auburn

Street Food explores the supermarkets of mystery in Auburn and falls in love with Shanklish, a wonderful ball of hard cheese.



Auburn has some great supermarkets of mystery. One of our favourites is Gima on Queen St. It looks like it was once an old Flemings or Franklins and has retained a wonderful sixties supermarket facade. Inside is far different to what Auburn shoppers of old would recognise.

There's nothing better than walking down aisles of supermarkets and finding great things to taste. The added bonus of shopping at Gima is a cafe next door where Alison can leave Shawn to have a coffee while she happily trips around the shop at her leisure. Husband waiting areas should be encouraged at more shopping centres.



Our usual purchase here is a giant 2 litre tub of yoghurt for around $5 or $6, but this time we head further down the back of the shop to the cheese section. There's a few different styles of cheese, but this one caught Alison's eye - a cricket ball sized round ball of cheese covered in herbs called shanklish.



For approx 250g for $3.53 it was a good buy for an unusual cheese. We often buy things with no idea what they are, so once home we research and find it's a cured labneh style of cheese common across many cultures.



The cheese is made from a yoghurt base and is spiced with chilli which gives it the pinkish hue when cut. It's salty but not as salty as fetta and is rolled in a mix of oregano and chilli.



A simple fresh salad is an easy way to use this cheese. You could use a mix of sliced tomato, peeled and deseeded cucumber slices, paper thin slices of red onion and chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.



Only a small amount of the cheese is needed in a small salad. About a finger width slice from half the ball seemed like enough. Eaten by itself, you could cut into chunks and serve with olives and pickles, perhaps how you might use fetta.



The cheese crumbles easily over the salad and adds a salty finishing touch. Once mixed through, it melts in a little with the salad juices and oil.

This ball of goodness is set to be a permanent fixture in our fridge. It lasts for a long time and is used in small amounts so it's perfect for the last of the summer tomatoes.

Gima Supermarket is at 31-35 Queen St, Auburn 2144.

5 comments:

  1. I tried skanklish for the first time in Fairfield yesterday...coincidence! It was grated onto a plate and served with diced tomatoes & parsley on top. Really good with Leb chook.

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    1. That's pretty much how we use it, it adds a great flavour to a simple mix of fresh ingredients.

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  2. What an interesting cheese! At such a good price too!

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  3. Looks so yummy, I will try anything that is CHEESE! <3

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Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).