Cheese-Nut Pâté

Description

 * formatted by Lisa Crawford

Ingredients

 * 3 tbsp butter
 * 1 cup finely minced onion
 * 8 oz cream cheese
 * 1 lbs cottage cheese
 * 1 cup ground almonds and walnuts combined
 * ½ tsp salt
 * lots of black pepper
 * ½ tsp dill
 * 2 tsp prepared mustard
 * 2 to 3 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
 * 2 cup grated cheddar

Topping

 * 1 cup ricotta
 * a few walnuts halves, whole almonds and whole or chopped olives
 * radishes, cucumber slices and parsley sprigs

Directions

 * 1) Preheat oven to 325°F.
 * 2) Grease a standard loaf pan with 2 tablespoons of the butter.
 * 3) Saute onions in the remaining butter until soft, about 4 minutes.
 * 4) Combine the cream cheese, cottage cheese, ground nuts, salt, pepper, dill, mustard, lime juice, and cheddar in a food processor until uniform.
 * 5) Spoon into the prepared pan and bake 1 hour.
 * 6) Allow to cool completely in pan then chill for at least several hours before turning onto a serving platter.
 * 7) To decorate, spread ricotta cheese all over as if frosting a cake.
 * 8) Place garnish over cake as desired.
 * 9) Serve with dark bread or crackers.

Nutritional information
Per serving: 481 Cal; 24g pro, 9g carb, 40g fat(73%), 2g fiber, 97 mg chol, 731 mg sodium