Liptauer! I’ve never had it but my favorite food writer, the late great Laurie Colwin, in her Gourmet column devoted an entire essay to the glories of Liptauer. She also loved Lebanon Bologna which I accidentally came across in Aldi one day. Spicy!
Before Nopardons set me straight, I had it in my head that Liptauer was an aged cheese; but it’s a spread you MAKE out of cheese. Here is her recipe verbatim:
“This cheese is made from goats’ milk in Hungary, but you can’t get that here so the following is an Americanized version of this spread. I do like it. :-)
Cream together 1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons THICK sour cream
Mash together, with a fork, 2 anchovy fillets and 1 drained teaspoon of capers and then add that and the following to the to the cheese mixture, blending thoroughly...
*1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
optional...1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
Transfer the cheese mixture to a plate and shape into a smooth mound ( dome shaped )and sprinkle with paprika.
Chill slightly before serving with crackers or small rounds of pumpernickle and/or rye bread. You can just fill the celery with this and serve it as is or garnished with halved cherry tomatoes, slices of black olives, and/or a small piece of anchovy.
*If you don’t like chives you can substitute VERY finely chopped Vidalia sweet onions...or just omit this ingredient completely.”
When I tried it, I went light on the anchovies, and I don’t think I’ll do that next time. Also, NP insists that you must have REAL Hungarian Sweet Paprika. She recommends Szeged, which I’ve never seen in stores, but you can get it on Amazon:
But at least now you have the recipe!
It's really good, especially when spread on pumpernickel/black bread ( more of an open faced sandwich, when eaten on a full slice, than an appetizer or Hors d'oeuvre; for the latter, use small rounds or triangles of the bread or crackers ) and when used as a filling in a piece of celery!