This is our version of a tasty cheese spread that is common in many eastern European countries. It’s great as a sandwich filling or a spread on crackers.  

Ingredients

200g Angel Food cream cheese

¼ cup canned white beans

2 teaspoons smoked or regular paprika

½ teaspoon salt

Pinch of white or black pepper

1 tablespoon diced cornichons, gherkins or capers

2 tablespoons red or white onion, minced

1 spring onion or handful of fresh chives, finely chopped

Instructions

1.        Use a food processor or electric mixer to blend the cream cheese and beans with the salt, pepper and paprika.

2.        Transfer to a mixing bowl and use a spatula to mix in the remaining ingredients.

3.        If you’re making it ahead of time you can set it in a small dish in the fridge and unmould it on to a serving plate, surrounded with crackers, pretzels and fresh crunchy raw salad vegetables.

4.        Serve at room temperature sprinkled with more paprika, diced onion and spring onion/chives.

Notes

Liptauer is traditionally made from quark, cottage cheese or soft cheese from sheep or goat milk. We’ve updated it with this delicious plant-based version!

We replaced the traditional butter ingredient with white beans but you could also probably use tofu or plant-based yoghurt or sour cream.

Liptauer and variations on it are found all over eastern and central Europe: in Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia (where it has the delightful name of ‘chaos salad’!), Croatia, Albania, Romania and parts of Italy. The name comes from Liptau, the German name for the former county Liptov in northern Slovakia.

Some traditional recipes include beer (and it is commonly served in bars). We haven’t included caraway seeds in our version but they are a common ingredient. Tarragon is also included in some regional recipes.

If you have any Liptauer cheese left over after the party, it’s great stirred into a pasta sauce or dolloped on top of hot potatoes.