Obatzda
Bavarian beer-garden cheese spread: ripe Camembert mashed with soft butter, sharp onion, sweet paprika and caraway. Pinky-orange, soft, savoury. Served piled on a wooden board with pretzels, radish slices and a litre of cold Helles. The Munich standard.
Overview
Soft ripe Camembert mashes with butter, finely grated onion, sweet paprika, caraway and a splash of beer until coloured rosy-orange and spreadable but textured. Rests in the fridge 30 minutes so the flavours marry. Pile in a bowl, top with raw onion rings and a dusting of paprika, and serve with pretzels and dark bread. Eaten cold.
Ingredients
Spread
- 250 g ripe Camembert cheese (room temperature; the riper the better)
- 100 g soft unsalted butter
- 50 g cream cheese (or quark, smooths the mix; optional)
- 1 white onion (small, finely grated; about 60 g)
- 1 garlic clove (finely grated; optional)
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (lightly crushed in a mortar)
- 2 tablespoons Pilsner (or wheat beer, or water)
- salt
- pepper
To finish
- 1 white onion (small, very thinly sliced into rings)
- A pinch of sweet paprika (for dusting)
- A small bunch of fresh chives (snipped; optional)
To serve
- Soft Bavarian pretzels (Brezn)
- Dark rye bread
- Radishes (sliced)
Method
Stage 1 - Soften the cheese
- Cut the Camembert into rough chunks (rind and all; the rind is part of the flavour).
- Place in a bowl with the soft butter and the cream cheese if using.
- Leave at room temperature 20 minutes to soften fully.
Stage 2 - Mix
- Mash with a fork until roughly combined but still a little chunky (this isn't a smooth dip; texture matters).
- Add the grated onion, garlic if using, paprika, crushed caraway and beer.
- Mix to a thick, spoonable, rosy-orange paste.
- Season with a small pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Taste; the Camembert is already salty, so go easy.
Stage 3 - Rest
- Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours) so the flavours blend.
- Bring back to room temperature for 15 minutes before serving; cold Obatzda is hard to spread.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Pile into a shallow bowl; smooth the top lightly.
- Scatter the raw onion rings over.
- Dust with paprika; scatter chives.
- Serve with pretzels, dark bread and sliced radishes.
Notes
- Use ripe Camembert: A young firm Camembert won't mash properly. If yours is hard, leave it at room temperature 2-3 hours first. A wedge of Brie works too.
- Beer matters but not much: Use what you'd drink; a light lager is traditional. Water works if you'd rather skip alcohol.
- Keep some texture: Don't blitz this smooth. A few small lumps of cheese are the Bavarian sign of homemade.
Variations
Spicier: Add ½ teaspoon hot paprika or a pinch of cayenne. Smokier: Swap half the sweet paprika for smoked paprika.
Serving
Serve with: Soft pretzels (warmed in the oven 5 minutes), dark rye, radishes, gherkins. Beer-garden plate. Pair with a cold Helles or Weissbier.
Storage
- Keeps 4 days refrigerated, covered.
- Doesn't freeze (the butter splits on thaw).
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