![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/freshchradish2p.png\" "\\"freshchradish2p\\"")
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Simple combinations and cheap, basic products sometimes give amazing results and fresh cheese with chives is one of the best examples I know. Fresh cheese can be mixed with any herb you want, but in my opinion only chives make the combination perfect. Fresh Cheese and Chives Spread<\/a> (I have written about it here<\/a>) is one of my most distinct childhood food memories. I had it for breakfast, as a snack, as a light supper and my appetite for it has never decreased. In fact, even now this spread is my staple all year round. When spring vegetables appear, I do just like my mum and enrich it with chopped pink radishes.\u00a0The crisp radish\u00a0adds a strong peppery taste, makes the texture more interesting and embellishes the colour palette.<\/p>\n The fresh cheese I have in mind is called “curd cheese” and sometimes “farm” or “farmers cheese”, available in Polish\/Russian\/ Hungarian grocery shops all around the world. Curd cheese is widely used in Central and Eastern Europe (Russian\u00a0\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0433, Polish twar\u00f3g or bia\u0142y ser, Hungarian t\u00far\u00f3 or Austrian Topfen are only some examples in both savoury and sweet dishes and is my absolute favourite in Baked Cheesecake<\/a> (while its smooth, mixed version is ideal in Unbaked Cheesecake<\/a>). Its texture might be described as something halfway between ricotta and feta, but its slightly tangy taste differs from both. Since it is produced by straining soured milk, curd cheese is a natural product and if low or medium-fat variety is used, it makes relatively healthy meals and desserts. (It shouldn’t be mixed up with the Canadian and US “cheese curds”!). This is how curd cheese, crushed with fork, looks like:<\/p>\n This spread is not only fresh, low-fat, quick and an excellent appetite suppressant, but it is one of the rare things which taste much better on wholemeal, black, crunchy bread or pumpernickel rather than white bread. The spread keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, in a closed container and tastes even better the following day, when the chives\u2019 and radishes’ flavours are stronger. I always make a big batch to have it ready for breakfast or as a healthy snack.<\/p>\n TIP: If you cannot get curd\/farmers cheese, you can use drained cottage cheese, but add some sour milk or sour cream or kefir (not yogurt) in order to make it tangy.<\/p>\n Other recipes calling for curd cheese:<\/p>\n -Potato and Curd Cheese Dumplings<\/a><\/p>\n -Pear and Curd\/Cottage Cheese Pie<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/curdcheese.png\" "\\"curdcheese\\"")
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