Cottage cheese pepper dip recipe

Could there be a food more heavily burdened with a dull reputation? Has anyone even eaten cottage cheese since the 1970s?

Turns out that like so many foods today, this aged icon of the fat-free diet movement has been getting the artisanal treatment by cheesemakers around the country, giving fresh life to a food most of us haven't thought about in decades. So we decided it was time to reimagine how we eat it and come up with recipes worthy of the new breed of high-quality cottage cheeses.

COTTAGE CHEESE PEPPER DIP

Start to finish: 15 minutes

Servings: 8

16-ounce container cottage cheese

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more to garnish

1/2 cup chopped cherry peppers

1 tablespoon cherry pepper liquid (from the jar of cherry peppers)

1 tablespoon diced banana peppers

1/4 cup diced Kalamata olives

Chips, toasted baguette rounds, crackers or vegetables, to serve

In a medium bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cherry peppers, cherry pepper liquid, banana peppers and Kalamata olives. Spoon the mixture evenly into a casserole or other serving dish. Sprinkle with additional paprika. Serve with toasted chips, toasted baguette rounds, crackers or vegetables.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 50 calories; 10 calories from fat (20 percent of total calories); 1.5 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 0 g fiber; 280 mg sodium.

___