Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread.

If you grew up on the islands you’d have at least one experience with cheese paste sandwiches… the go-to snack at many kids birthday parties. A zesty cheese spread made with grated cheddar, spiced with mustard and usually done in different colors so you get that sort of rainbow effect when you look at a cross-section of a sandwich. This recipe is the gown-up version of said cheese paste as we’ll add some fresh vegetables to the mix and instead or grated cheese, we’ll employ the use of cream cheese.

You’ll Need…

1 package of plain cream cheese
1 small carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (*optional)
pinch sea salt
pinch black pepper

IMPORTANT: If doing this recipe gluten free, be sure to go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with specific gluten free dietary needs. Remember the bagels I used in the image/video does contain gluten. NOTE: I have this posted under vegetarian and I know some people skip the cheese as part of their vegetarian diet – please substitute as necessary.

Make sure to bring the cream cheese to room temperature (soft – DON”T microwave), so it’s easy to mix. Grate the carrot, dice the celery and bell pepper. Make sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling the scotch bonnet pepper and DON”T include any of the seeds nor the white membrane surrounding the seeds or you’ll be dealing with the raw heat. If you want you can use a few drops of your fav hot sauce / peppersauce instead of the fresh scotch bonnet. Chop the chives and parsley very fine.

Now in a deep mixing bowl add the soft cream cheese and mix together all the ingredients until they are well combined. Taste for salt and adjust according.

Enjoy on toasted bagels, sliced bread, pita, or your fav Caribbean style breads (coconut, cassava.. even sada roti). This is a also a great topping for crackers, toasted chips or anything you use as a vehicle for dips.

Store in a container in the fridge for at least a week. You can personalize this a bit more by adding any of your fav grated vegetables to the mix.