RECIPE: Piment d’Espelette Pickled Cherries with Whipped Cottage Cheese

Blitzing cottage cheese until it’s smooth and whipped produces a blank canvas endlessly customizable to any season, making for a quick and delicious appetizer. For this one, sweet cherries lightly pickled in rice vinegar provide a nice tangy contrast to the smooth dairy, but you can top it with anything you like. For a savory version, add herbs of your choice to the cheese when blending. Serve with small toasts or crackers.

Ingredients

Pickled Sweet Cherries:

8 ounces sweet cherries, pitted

⅔ cup rice vinegar

⅓ cup water

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon Piment d’Espelette pepper (optional)

Whipped Cottage Cheese:

12 ounces whole-milk (4%) cottage cheese

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Black pepper

Method

For the pickled cherries:

Pit the cherries and add to a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt together over medium heat until the sugar dissolves—it does not have to come to a boil. Allow to cool slightly, then pour the brine over the cherries and let the pickles come to room temperature on the counter. Once cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day before eating. The cherries are best within 1 week but will keep for several months in the refrigerator. 

For the cottage cheese:

In a food processor, add the cottage cheese, salt, and a few cranks of black pepper and pulse until mostly smooth. Add olive oil and process until whipped and the texture of hummus. 

To assemble:

Remove from the pickle brine the amount of cherries you want to add to the dish. Roughly chop or slice them in half and set them aside.

In a shallow serving bowl, add the cottage cheese and, using the back of a spoon, swirl the mixture around until it is evenly spread across the dish. Top with pickled cherries, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon Piment d’Espelette pepper (for a smoky spice) or more freshly cracked black pepper.