Paprika Goat Cheese Spread

This goat cheese spread takes happy hour to the next level in 5 minutes! The ultimate easy appetizer, pair this cheese spread recipe with crostini and wine. Plus: It’s inspired by our surprising AncestryDNA results!

This Paprika Herb Goat Cheese Spread was developed in collaboration with AncestryDNA. All opinions are ours.

A few weeks ago, Alex and I sent kits containing our fresh (!) saliva to AncestryDNA Kits to find our roots. My mother is 1000% in the family history: she is the family guru who knows the family tree from end to end. When she found out that Alex and I would be using the AncestryDNA kits to find our roots, she couldn’t contain her excitement—and neither could I! What would my test show? Would I be secretly a Spanish princess (is that why I’ve always been drawn to it)? And what about Alex? We all had an idea of ​​our lineage, but would the test confirm it?

We recently got our results back and we couldn’t believe what we found! Ready to see our results?

Our AncestryDNA results

Here are my AncestryDNA results! I grew up knowing that I am 50% Norwegian, 25% German and 25% English. Growing up, my maiden name was Kuhnau, a very German name, and my father always identified strongly with his German origins. So I usually tell people that I’m of Norwegian and German descent. However, if we look at these DNA results: Surprise: I’m only 5% German! And instead of what I thought was German, 34% of my DNA is from the UK. I never thought! So this AncestryDNA test shows that DNA is much more complicated than family traditions and culture.

Another surprise (and joy) came from me Spanish origin. I fell in love with the Spanish language growing up, studied abroad in Madrid at university and have a deep love for the country. I always joked that in another life I was a Spanish flamenco dancer! Lo and behold, my AncestryDNA results say my DNA is 5% Spanish (Iberian Peninsula)!

And here are Alex’s DNA results! When he went into the test, he identified his ancestry as 50% French and the rest German and British. As you can see above, it is mainly from Western Europe! He was interested to see how he presented himself 18% Awesome Great Britain, which was more than he expected. It was also cool to use the migration feature and see his family come to New York in the United States in the 1800’s. What a fascinating way to look at immigration patterns throughout history!

And what about our son Larson? Since Larson was adopted, we’d love to know more about his lineage! We know a little bit from his birth mother that he’s part Mexican and part Polish, but we’d absolutely love to know more. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll write an article about his journey! What about you: If you are or have been adopted yourself, have you considered something like a DNA test to find out more about your origins?

All in all, it was a great experience receiving our AncestryDNA results! It’s interesting to think about how family culture affects perceptions of your own heritage and how your actual DNA may or may not reflect that. Our findings sparked fun conversations with our parents, siblings and friends. And at the end, we are all human: which makes us all related and similar in many ways! These results can help us celebrate what makes each human being unique and different, but also what unites us as one human race. If you want to try it yourself, you can Buy an AncestryDNA kit here!

Why a paprika goat cheese spread?

You’re probably wondering what the connection between the pepper and goat cheese spread and the results from Alex and my AncestryDNA is?

First of all, food is not just about ingredients and flavors. Food is people. Food is an expression of cultural identity. In this way we pass on our own culture from one generation to the next and learn about other cultures in an effective way. Alex, Larson and I have just returned from an epic trip to Europe and a big part of what we loved about the trip was learning about the culture through the food. Speaking of which, it was on that trip that we partially found the inspiration for this cheese spread recipe!

Spread cheeses of all kinds, along with beer and wine, are popular as a snack everywhere in Europe where Alex comes from, whether in a German beer garden or in the French countryside. During our trip, dear friends hosted us in Vienna, Austria for a few days before we left for Croatia. They introduced us to Liptauer (a hearty Austrian cheese spread) and several other creamy cheese spreads at a Buschenschenkel, a pop-up restaurant on a winery. They’re basically European forms of chili cheese popular in America! We loved the versatility of these cheese spreads and enjoyed spreading them on all types of bread, crackers, and veggies!

This goat cheese spread is loosely based on this Liptauer cheese spread, with nods to a German beer spread and of course French goat cheese spread. Basically it is a European fusion: exactly what our AncestryDNA shows!

Related:The best goat cheese recipes

How to make spreadable goat cheese

Now we wanted our European Pepper Goat Cheese Fusion Spread recipe to taste a bit like the European cheese spreads we love, but also be fairly easy to make. (Because that’s our trick.) Many cheese spread recipes have lots of mayonnaise or butter added to the cheese. Instead, we opted for a simple goat cheese spread with just a few other key ingredients added for mega flavor. This Goat Cheese Spread is an easy 5 minute, 5 ingredient appetizer that will take your happy hour to the next level with very little effort! Here are the magic ingredients we chose:

• goat cheese: Spicy and creamy goat cheese carries the dip
• Olive oil: The addition of olive oil helps spread the goat cheese
• Paprika: adds background flavor and makes the beautiful orange color
• Dijon mustard: adds a savory and rich flavor
• capers: the magic ingredient! The capers add just the right amount of salty flavor that makes the dip shine. Don’t miss them! Capers are also a nod to French cuisine (from Alex’s side).

What do you think?

Have you tried AncestryDNA kits? If yes, what did you find?

Looking for more party appetizer recipes?

Aside from that Pepper and Goat Cheese Spread, here are some of our favorite party appetizer recipes:

This recipe is…

This Paprika Goat Cheese Spread is vegetarian, gluten-free, and naturally sweet.