Gebna bel Tamatem Recipe (Spicy Egyptian White Cheese-Tomato Dip): جبنة بالطماطم
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Equipment
- medium sauce pan
Ingredients
Gebna Bel Tamatem
- 1 cup cottage cheese, see recipe below
- 1 small red onions, finely chopped
- 1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 green chili pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper, taste
- 1 teaspoon dry mint
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Gebna Kareesh (Cottage Cheese)
- 5 cups full fat milk
- 1 cup heavy cream, optional
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 6 tablespoon s white distilled vinegar
Instructions
The Cottage Cheese:
- Pour milk and cream into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Heat slowly to 190°F/88°C. Add the spoonful of salt and stir regularly so the milk doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in the vinegar and let the milk gently simmer on very low heat for 5 minutes or until the milk curdles, and the solids separate from the whey or the liquid.
- Meanwhile, line a fine-mesh sieve or colander with a clean piece of doubled cheesecloth. Place the colander over a deep bowl to catch the liquid (aka whey) that drips out.
- Pour the curdled milk into fine mesh sieve fitted over a deep bowl.
- When it cools down, gather the ends of the cheese cloth tightly together and form a cloth-wrapped ball of cheese and squeeze to force any liquid out. Ideally, leave the cottage cheese, and drain its liquid overnight in the fridge.
- When the cottage cheese is all dry, then it is ready assemble the Egyptian Cottage/Kareesh Cheese Dip.
Assemble Gebna Bel Tamatem
- Dump the cheese out of the cloth into a deep mixing bowl.
- Add the olive oil, mint, spices, tomato, and pepper, and mix very well. or blend everything in a food processor.
- Transfer the cheese to the serving dish, garnish with fresh mint, a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve it with hot Egyptian Aish Baladi, pita bread or crackers. ENJOY!
Nermine's Notes
Nermine's Notes
- As a rule of thumb, every cup of milk or cream calls for one tablespoon of acid, whether white distilled vinegar or lime juice.