Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Lately, I’ve been wondering what would happen if I re-strained strained Greek yogurt (the double-straining it goes through initially is what makes it thicker and creamier than the standard American variety). Logically, I figured, it would get even thicker and turn into some sort of a queso fresco or farmer’s cheese. I snipped off a fresh piece of cheesecloth and gave it a strain.
I’d been right — the re-strained Greek yogurt basically turned into cream cheese. Even better, it tasted fresh and just a bit tangy rather than plastic-y and gummy the way most commercial cream cheeses do. I decided to combine my homemade cream cheese with a puréed roasted red pepper and some za’atar spices to make a dip. That worked out well, so the next day I decided to toss some cooked pasta with the leftover cream-cheese-and-pepper dip. That worked, too! It tasted vaguely like palomino sauce, but with peppers instead of tomatoes. (Palomino is basically marinara with a bit of cream stirred into it.)
The next time you find yourself with extra Greek yogurt on your hands, you might want to try making your own cream cheese…and then maybe your own dip, sauce, or stuffed-fruit dessert. Your homemade cheese will be much, much fresher than anything you could buy at the market.
To make your own cream cheese: simply secure a piece of cheesecloth — I buy mine at the local hardware store — over a bowl. (The easiest way is to rubber-band the cheesecloth over the bowl’s edges.) Scoop out some yogurt and mound it onto the cheesecloth. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight. (To prevent the soon-to-be-cream-cheese from picking up refrigerator odors, up-end a bigger bowl over the top to cover it.)
The next morning, carefully scrape the cream cheese off the cheesecloth. Serve immediately with fresh fruit or crackers or save it to incorporate the cheese into whichever dish you choose. Bear in mind that it’s best used within 3 days.
Enjoy!
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Tags: cream cheese, greek yogurt, palomino, pasta
