The Answer’s in the Oil

Fried Cottage Cheese 2 (500 x 332)

I’ll fucking fry it.

Of course that is what I should be doing with my leftover cottage cheese.

After my recent discovery of this cheese curd mixture, or whatever cottage cheese is, I became obsessed with figuring out ways to use it. My first attempt — a cottage cheese sandwich — tasted fine. It was simple, but fairly original (according to those with cottage cheese histories).

But I then had a tub of that leftover. It was too tangy to eat by the spoonful so I had to disguise it. I flirted with many recipes: enchiladas, kugel, or simple scrambled eggs. But I wanted something fun. Something I could create with the ingredients already in my apartment.

Oil! I always have oil. I also had the blackest black (sounds like a mascara, huh?) plantains that I immediately had to fry or else throw out. I pretended the cottage cheese was queso fresco and warmed up some oil.

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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

cottage cheese

– Who knew cottage cheese was such a conversation starter? A few of our fav ideas:

DZRTJUL:

I use cottage cheese as a pasta sauce.  Melt a little butter in a small pot, add garlic and saute a few minutes. Add your cottage cheese and stir until melted. to this you can add fresh basil, parsley, a little nutmeg, salt and pepper. Yummy and good for you!! (Some parm. is also great in this.)

Nee Nee:

My mom used to use cottage cheese in lasagna as a ricotta replacement, mostly because we didn’t have ricotta in our grocery store in the 80s. I heartily second the suggestion of cottage cheese and tomatoes + S&P. It’s another vehicle to consume ‘maters when they are in season. I glop cottage cheese on a cucumber and vinegar salad. Also, the dogs love it. It is a good thing to feed when they have upset stomachs.

– Nothing gets food bloggers amped up like the topic of food photos. Jenna:

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Unburdened By a Reference Point

cottage cheese sandwich

Although I was only in Florida for a few days, I became enamored with two new foods, actually, three. I’ve already declared my love and ambition for smoked whitefish. The other two are Cuban toast and cottage cheese. Cuban toast comes pre-buttered, which is an obvious win. And then there’s cottage cheese.

I’ve never tried cottage cheese before. I remember seeing it— bright white and slimy—in my college cafeteria. I never touched it. I haven’t had any exposure to the cheese since. I’ve never seen it in any fridge I’ve lived with. I’ve never been served it at a friend’s house. I’ve never seen it ordered at a restaurant.

In the morning before our flight back to DC my uncle asked what I wanted for breakfast. I said I didn’t eat breakfast. He gave me the whole metabolism spiel and listed a few choices. One of them cottage cheese. I jumped on it. I’ve been wanting to try it and it would make my uncle happy, so he scooped a spoonful on a plate. I took a bit. Magic.

It was like a congealed, less tangy, less salty feta. It was awesome. And it’s supposed to be good for you, no?

A few days later I purchased both a half pound of smoked whitefish and a tub of cottage cheese. I bought Nancy’s brand cottage cheese. It looked healthier than the rest, with the addition of L. acidophilus, B. bifidum and four strains of lactic cultures, plus it was on a sale.

Nancy’s cottage cheese, though, delivers on its promise of unique old-fashioned tangy character. This cottage cheese tasted like yogurt, not feta light. It was okay, but kinda weird to eat by the spoonful. It needed to be toned down.

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