Körözött is the cheese dip your party guests will devour

Let’s be honest: while guests might appreciate fancier foods on the table, chips and dips will always go fast. Jeremy Salamon’s version of körözött — the paprika-spiked, savoury Hungarian spread — uses Pimento cheese, and it sounds especially irresistible. The recipe comes from the chef and restaurateur's cookbook, Second Generation, and, aptly, it’s a blend of his cultural influences. It’s also, as he puts it, “a perfect party dip.” And we love that he shares that it’s even better as a toasted sandwich for hosts once the guests are gone. (Though we wonder how there would ever be any left.)

Körözött (Hungarian Pimento Cheese)

By Jeremy Salamon

The base of this recipe comes from a Hungarian dish, körözött, a spiced cheese spread traditionally made with quark, kind of a chunkier cottage cheese. I grew up in Florida and spent the summers in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, so my love for Southern cooking is genuine and deep. In the summers, we ate a lot of pimento cheese, and I saw a bridge between these two very traditional Hungarian and American foods. (If that’s not the origin story of my cooking, I don’t know what is.) This dip pulls from both sides, with sweet paprika, caraway seeds and raw onion mingling with a ton of sharp cheddar cheese. It’s a perfect party dip or even better on toasted bread as a late-night sandwich after everyone leaves.

Ingredients

• 16 oz cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia), softened
• 1 cup piquillo peppers, drained and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds, toasted
• 1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• 8 oz (2 cups) sharp cheddar, shredded
• ½ large (½ cup) yellow onion, finely minced

To plate:

• Minced chives
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Flaky sea salt
• Chips, crackers or toast

Preparation

Combine the cream cheese, chopped peppers, mustard, lemon juice, kosher salt, caraway seeds and paprika in a food processor and process for about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until you have a smooth mixture. Transfer to a large bowl and gently fold in the cheddar and onion until combined.

To plate: Scrape the körözött into a large serving bowl and garnish with chives, black pepper and a pinch of flaky salt. Accompany with chips,* crackers or toast.

Wine pairing: Try pairing körözött with a fuller-bodied white wine with greener flavours and aged in used oak, like Furmint, Zöldveltelini (Grüner Veltliner) or similar.

*Ruffles, if you have them.

From the book Second Generation by Jeremy Salamon. Copyright © 2024 by Jeremy Salamon. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.