At what was likely the last outdoor gathering of our Gourmet Dinner Club (GDC) this year (thanks to the pandemic), the theme was an ingredient with which we’d never cooked. This was more difficult for me than I thought it would be because I like to both cook and try new things.
I signed up for an appetizer and went searching for something simple to make. I found a recipe that contained not one but two new ingredients – pumpkin seed oil and farmer cheese.
I was intrigued by pumpkin seed oil as it only comes from one area of the world – part of the former Austro-Hungarian empire (now parts of Austria, Slovenia, Transylvania, Romania, Croatia, Vojvodina and Hungary). They grow a special pumpkin called Styria. Both Austria and Slovenia export this special oil. Wegmans carries a re-labeled version but you can also find it online. It’s brown in color and has a nutty flavor. It’s most commonly used in salad dressings, desserts or as a finishing oil (such as a drizzle for soup). It’s not recommended for heating at high heat so you wouldn’t use it for cooking on top of the stove.
This recipe hails from Slovenia which borders Austria to the south. A random aside, I wrote my longest paper in college on nationalism in Slovenia at the turn of the 20th century for a seminar course taught by the daunting history Professor Solomon Wank. Thirty plus years later I’m now writing about Slovenian food.
Farmer cheese (Farmer’s or Farmers’) is pressed cottage cheese. It’s a good base for this spread as it has relatively little taste so the pumpkin oil shines. It’s kind of a cross between goat cheese and cream cheese in terms of flavor and consistency. If you can’t find it, I’d opt for cream cheese (unless you want to make your own). Wegmans had both a salted and unsalted version – I used unsalted so that I could control the amount of salt used.
I mixed all the ingredients together in a food processor and let it sit overnight for the flavors to marry. I served it with buckwheat toasts. Don’t be fooled – buckwheat is gluten-free/wheat-free. It was well received by my GDC friends.
It’s simple to make and is a perfect autumn appetizer.
| Pumpkin Seed Oil and Farmer Cheese Spread | Print |
- 1 pound farmer cheese
- 2 medium shallots, cut into a few pieces
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped chives
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds, toasted
- For serving: buckwheat or pumpernickel toasts or crackers
- In the bowl of a food processor, place cheese, shallots, chives, pumpkin seed oil and paprika. Mix until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place in a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove from refrigerator about an hour before serving. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Source: Variation on recipe from Saveur
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