Elevate whipped cottage cheese with exotic flavors from the Middle East! This makes for a super tasty appetizer that will feed a crowd.
We pretty much always have a container of cottage cheese in our fridge. Don’t you? I like to mix it into my scrambled eggs, enjoy with crackers for a quick lunch, or even drizzle it with honey for a snack or healthy dessert with fruit. Other cottage cheese ideas on my blog include this incredibly addicting Golden Caramelized Mushroom Toast, my Lightened Up Yellow Squash Casserole, and these Protein-Packed Grated Egg Biscuits.
WATCH ME MAKE THIS ON THE GRAM!
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS RECIPE:
Now ya’ll already know, I’m primarily a savory person. So… creating this dip with my Air Fryer Tomatoes Confit and grilled bread was a no brainer. Here’s what you’ll need:
WHIPPED COTTAGE CHEESE:
- Cottage Cheese
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Lemon Juice
FOR TOPPING & DIPPING:
- Air Fryer Tomatoes Confit
- Zaatar
- Sumac
- Lemon Zest (optional)
- La Brea French Baguette
On a recent mini-vacay to Greenville, we stopped for lunch at this amazing Persian restaurant called Pomegranate on Main. If you’ve never ventured to Falls Park on the Reedy, I highly recommend it! Back to the restaurant… they have a bowl of sumac at every table and we legit used it on just about everything we ordered. It’s amazing on hummus (I often make this White Bean Hummus at home), with chicken, inside wraps, or sprinkled on Baba Ganoush. So, when I was crafting up my recipe, this mix of colorful ingredients automatically came to mind!
GRILLING BREAD 101:
North Carolina summers can be a bit unpredictable with the heat and rainfall, so I will always have a backup plan for grilling items indoors. I used a cast iron panini press for the bread, and it worked out great! See those grill marks? A beauty!
- I like to brush my bread with a little olive oil before toasting. Afterwards, if you have it on hand, I recommend rubbing the crispy bread with a raw garlic clove for extra flavor.
- Preheat your pan, but not TOO hot. Bread can easily burn, so always keep a close eye on it.
- Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before storing any leftovers. Otherwise, the bread will stem in the bag and become soft.
MORE DIPS & SAUCES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
Hatch Chile Mexican Street Corn Dip
Habanero-Garlic African Pepper Sauce
Better Than Trader Joe’s Black Bean Dip
10-Minute Roasted Red Bell Pepper Cream Sauce
Quick and Easy Irish Beer Cheese Dip
Spinach + Artichoke Hot Crab Dip
Authentic Restaurant Style Salsa
VIEW ALL MY BLOG RECIPES HERE!
- 8 oz. Cottage Cheese
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp. Italian Parsley
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. Black Pepper
- 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 La Brea French Baguette, sliced
- 2 - 3 tbsp. Olive Oil, for brushing
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 cup Tomato Confit (recipe on blog)
- 1 tbsp. Za'atar
- 1 tsp. Sumac
- Lemon Zest, optional
- Place all the ingredients for the whipped cottage cheese in a food processor. Puree together until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to plate.
- Heat a grill pan or the outdoor grill to 350F. Slice the baguette and brush one side with olive oil. Place olive oil side down and add pressure to toast and create grill marks. Rub the toasty bread with garlic cloves while still warm. Repeat with all slices and set on a serving platter.
- Pour the whipped cottage cheese into a large bowl and top with tomato confit, za'atar, sumac, and optional lemon zest. Enjoy immediately.
NOTES ON THIS RECIPE:
- I recommend using 4% cottage cheese in this recipe. Fat free or 2% won’t turn out as creamy and delicious.
- If you don’t own a food processor, you can certainly use a blender… just make sure to scrape down the sides as needed. Blend until there are no more curds.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 2 – 3 days.
This post is sponsored in partnership with La Brea Bakery. Per the usual, all opinions here are mine alone and I would never recommend a product or ingredient that I did not immensely enjoy myself. Thank you for supporting the brands that support SliceOfJess.com!
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