COTTAGE CHEESE, PLEASE :)

We're still at the cottage so it only makes sense we give you some cottage cheese recipes

Aug 23, 2024

“I’d like to request the cottage as my primary residence” - PD

Okay okay, we’re dragging this cottage-core theme on a little too long. But I promise, this is our last week here and probably the last time you’ll hear the word “cottage” from us… well at least for a little while. Until then, I must *trigger* warn you that you’ll be hearing “cottage” a whole lot today because this Digest is all about cottage….cheese.

If you didn’t take a pic of your cottage cheese toast did you even really eat it

That’s right—cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is kind of having a moment right now. Although, if you ask us it has been a staple in our household since we exclusively ate cottage cheese, rotisserie chicken, and stoned wheat-thin crackers for dinner as children — topping the cracker with cottage cheese and a piece of chicken for a fun little bite (it’s actually a great easy meal for kids and adults;).

we probably had our cottage cheese-rotisserie-cracker concoction that night lol

Cottage cheese is often associated with “dieting” because it’s low calorie. But it made a big resurgence within the last year in part because it’s also high in protein, a great source of calcium, and has so many more uses than just eating it plain in a canteloupe. Tiktokers have been using it to add more protein to their breakfast, as a replacement for mayo in tuna salad, and as a dessert substitute (I can’t get on board with that yet…whipped cottage cheese with jam is not for me). So this week, we are exploring the many wonderful and surprising ways you incorporate cottage cheese into your meals!

We would also like to shout out our mom’s client, Paula, for giving us this wonderful idea for a cottage cheese-themed digest:)

GO TO RECIPE

We often hyper-fixate on a particular breakfast meal and eat it over and over again until one day…we stop. Cottage cheese toast is one of them. And fortunately, we’re not over it yet. It’s super easy to make, filling, and very crave-able. Our preferred method is simple. Toast sourdough bread, and top it with a heaping spoonful of your favorite cottage cheese (we prefer 2% large curd), chopped “sugar bomb” cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, salt & pepper, and a drizzle of good olive oil and balsamic glaze. Other variations we’ve made (as seen in the collage above) include bacon, turkey bacon, fried eggs, hard-boiled eggs, lox, hot honey, sriracha...the options are endless!

GO TO RECIPE

Elina’s is one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago (we’ve featured it before in our Best Restaurants in Chicago edition). We honestly love everything on their minimal menu, however, one of my favorite things to order is their eggplant parm. It is the best eggplant parm I’ve ever had in my life. The eggplant is prepared in very thin layers, and instead of breaded and pan-fried, it’s baked in the oven before it’s assembled. I’ve been craving it lately and decided to make a similar version at home, adding cottage cheese to the mozzarella and parmesan for more protein. Keep in mind this is a great recipe for the weekend when you have more time to slice and assemble the delicate eggplant layers (and maybe even find joy in the process :)).

GO TO RECIPE

If you’re going to make one recipe this week, it’s got to be this one. While researching new ways to use cottage cheese, we came across a Reddit thread where someone shared how they like to blend cottage cheese, pecorino cheese, and milk into a sauce that tastes similar to carbonara. We were VERY intrigued. After some trial and error, and a little bit of pancetta (or bacon) for a salty bite, we perfected the recipe. And let me tell you, it is incredible! When you taste it, you‘ll be shocked that the sauce is made almost completely of cottage cheese and not butter and eggs. The recipe comes together very quickly as well. You simply blend cottage cheese, some freshly grated pecorino, black pepper, and a splash of milk. Cook small pieces of pancetta in a skillet, add the cooked pasta, the blended sauce, and a little pasta water (very important), then plate and top with a little more fresh pecorino cheese…. and voila you have an absolutely delicious protein-packed, light carbonara. 10/10!

As we experimented with our cottage cheese carbonara sauce, it occurred to us that it could also be a tasty dip for veggies. No surprise, we were right! For the dip version, we added more pepper and less milk to the cottage cheese and pecorino blend. It ended up tasting a lot like a ‘cacio e pepe’ sauce and was delicious dipped with cucumbers, carrots, and pretzels I had on hand.

If you’ve seen the viral ‘Cucumber Boy’ aka Logan on TikTok, who “sometimes just needs to eat an entire cucumber,” then you know what we’re about to do. Following his lead, we sliced up a whole cucumber *carefully with a mandolin, added it to a Tupperware container, and poured in our cacio e pepe dip (if you have an immersion blender you can make the sauce right in the Tupperware before you add the cucumbers), shook it very well, and created a hydrating, addicting, and refreshing snack.

Logan likes to eat his with metal chopsticks…so obvi we had to too

Now that we know pureed cottage cheese makes a great base for a dip, we are inspired to try more versions using ingredients like feta, a ranch packet, sriracha, or blue cheese!