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RCP: Herbed Cheese Spread

PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:59 pm
by Jenise
This is a Lyonnaise thing I actually remember having there, and loving, though I wasn't entirely certain what it was made out of. This month's Food and Wine has a recipe for it which I made a batch of last night for guests. Everybody loved it. They suggest pureed cottage cheese or quark: I used the former, a low fat organic version, and strained the cheese first thinking I could add moisture back but would never get it out if the cheese was too soupy (whatever happened to the dry cottage cheese of my childhood?--I bought some cottage cheese a few weeks ago that hardly had any curds in it, it was all cream)

Mix:

1 16 oz container low fat cottage cheese, strained and pureed
1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or any other chopped fresh herbs you'd like to play with
1 tsp white vinegar
salt & coarse ground black pepper to taste

Spread on thinly sliced grilled bread (I used sourdough, which really popped the cheese flavor).

Re: RCP: Herbed Cheese Spread

PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:02 pm
by Carrie L.
That sounds good, and actually quite healthy.
I'm imagining it as a layer underneath my wild mushroom spread. Mmmm.

Re: RCP: Herbed Cheese Spread

PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 4:08 pm
by Jenise
Carrie L. wrote:That sounds good, and actually quite healthy.
I'm imagining it as a layer underneath my wild mushroom spread. Mmmm.


Yes! Good looking too. You could use a small cookie scoop to put a small amount on a side plate for guests, or serve it in small ramekins scraped flat on top and garnished with a little gremolata.

Re: RCP: Herbed Cheese Spread

PostPosted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 7:16 pm
by Paul Winalski
I remember that when visiting Lyon on the way to a trip to Burgundy, one of their regional specialties was a peculiar combination of olive oil and yogurt. Which somehow worked. This is another of those "who would have thunk it" sorts of combinations.

-Paul W.