Buried Cheese (Joopta Doomirtah)
An old Assyrian recipe for Buried cheese, and a great story to go with it!
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 195kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. anise seeds
- 1 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 8 oz Asiago or kasseri cheese (or a combination of both)
- 4 oz. gorgonzola (or additional Asiago/Kasseri)
Instructions
- Grate the cheese using a medium grater, add gorgonzola, if using.
- Soak the anise, caraway, and cumin seeds in water for 10 minutes, to soften.
- Drain the seeds and add them to the cheese.
- Grab handfuls of the cheese and seeds and rub between your hands, and drop back into the bowl. Or use a fork in a similar fashion to cutting butter into flour.
- Continue doing this until the cheese no longer resembles grated cheese and begins to clump together. This process helps the flavors of the seeds to infuse into the cheese.
- Pour the cheese into a glass jar or a container. Press down with your hands to compact the cheese. Why? Because that’s what mom did, don’t question mom!
- To serve, simply spoon a few tablespoons of cheese into toasted pita bread pockets. Serve with Kalamata olives and hot tea.
- This cheese can be refrigerated for up to a month.
Nutrition
Serving: 2oz | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 2mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0g