Whipped cottage cheese, cucumber ribbons, paprika oil

A savory light lunch brimming with flavor from a hot paprika oil to a cilantro-infused whipped cottage cheese.

Cucumber ribbons make an excellent toast topping, just gather them into nests and add to your toast. I like to add a few herbs like dill and cilantro in, too.

All you need is a food processor or blender to whip the cottage cheese.

Ingredients:

Whipped cottage cheese:

500g cottage cheese

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, or parsley

1 garlic clove, grated

1 thumb-size piece of ginger, grated

1/2 tbsp olive oil

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

Cucumber ribbons:

1 cucumber, peeled into thin ribbons

few sprigs of dill

few sprigs of cilantro

Paprika oil:

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp white sesame seeds

1/4 tsp sumac

1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp chilli powder

pinch of salt

Method:

Combine all ingredients for the whipped cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add a dash of cold water if needed to smooth it out.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel a cucumber into ribbons. Optional to peel the skins off first. Discard the inside seeds or save for a smoothie. Toss in a few dill and cilantro sprigs and fluff it to make little nests to pile on top of toast.

Add oil to a frying pan and bring to medium-high heat. Add ground cumin and coriander seed and fry for 1 minute as it begins sizzle. Add the remaining spices, leaving out the salt. Fry for 1-2 minutes longer, then pour into a small bowl and add the salt. Mix to dissolve the salt.

Fry a slice of sourdough bread on both sides in the fry pan, adding in a dash more olive oil.

To assemble, slice the toast in half. Add a dollop of whipped cottage cheese to each toast half and smooth over. Add a cucumber ribbon and herb mix nest on top of each half. Spoon over the paprika oil over the toasts and garnish with a dash of more sumac. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and enjoy.