Le Bol de "Fromage Blanc" au Miel
Le Bol de "Fromage Blanc" au Miel·(luh bohl duh fro-mahzh blahn oh mee-yel)
Le Matin: The Uncomplicated French Morning
If you ask a French expat what they miss most about home, it's rarely intricate pastry—it's the magnificent landscape of the dairy aisle. At its heart sits fromage blanc, a fresh, unaged cheese whipped until ethereally glossy. Because it spoils before it can cross the Atlantic, you won't find it in a standard American supermarket. But by buzzing high-quality cottage cheese with a touch of sour cream, you can recreate the exact luscious texture and tart lactic bite of a quiet morning in France, unpretentiously swirled with good honey and toasted walnuts.
Before you start
Make the base ahead of time.
You can blend the cottage cheese and sour cream in a large batch on Sunday and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge all week for quick breakfasts.
Ingredients
- full-fat small-curd cottage cheese2 cup
- full-fat sour cream1/2 cup
- liquid honey4 tbsp
- walnuts1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Create the smooth lissé texture.
In a food processor or blender, combine the cottage cheese and sour cream. Blend on high for 60 to 90 seconds until the mixture is completely smooth, glossy, and holds soft peaks.
- 02
Temper the cheese.
Portion the blended base into four bowls and let them sit on the counter for about 10 minutes to take the refrigerator chill off.
- 03
Aerate in the bowl.
Right before serving, take a spoon or small whisk and beat the cheese vigorously in each bowl for about 15 seconds to incorporate air and develop a brilliant shine.
- 04
Assemble and serve.
Use the back of your spoon to create a small well in the center of the cheese, pour a tablespoon of honey into each well, scatter the toasted walnuts over the top, and serve immediately.
Notes
The grandmother trick.
Never serve your fromage blanc ice-cold. Bringing it to a cool room temperature and giving it a vigorous manual whisking right before eating relaxes the protein structure and unlocks its true creaminess.
Sourcing the honey.
Seek out Acacia honey if possible. Its liquid clarity and mild floral notes are the traditional French standard for sweetening dairy without masking the flavor of the milk.
From Cook French in America.