Körözött — Hungarian Paprika Cheese Spread

Ingredients

• 1½ cups cottage cheese or ricotta, drained
• 3 tbsp soft butter
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika + more to dust
• 1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1 tsp dijon
• Rye bread, radishes, and cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Beat the cheese and butter together until fluffy — the butter is what turns curds into a spread with a Budapest passport.
2. Fold in the paprika, caraway, scallions, dijon, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. The color should be sunset-orange throughout.
3. Rest 15 minutes minimum — caraway and paprika need a moment to introduce themselves to the dairy.
4. Taste: it should be tangy, gently smoky, and moreish. More paprika is rarely wrong here.
5. Swoosh onto rye, dust with extra paprika, and serve with radishes and cucumber for crunch. Hungarian wine-cellar snack culture, portable edition.