Tag Archives: cottage cheese

Desserts and Sweets

Grandma’s Cottage Cheesecake

This is such a special cheesecake, different from any other cheesecake I have ever eaten. The cottage cheese keeps its lumpy texture, so it doesn’t have the dense solidity of cheesecakes made with cream cheese. It’s like curd cake, and it’s almost a meal in itself. Even though I loved the sweeter cookies and other baked goods Grandma used to make, her cheesecake was ever so satisfying.

Ingredients for Grandma’s Cottage Cheesecake

  • 1 recipe baking powder biscuit base
  • 1 container creamy cottage cheese
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1/2 to 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Spread baking powder biscuit dough in large shallow pan, pinching up dough around edges for about 1/2 inch. Mix together rest of ingredients. Spread on dough base and bake at 350 F for 1/2 hour or until set.

Note: The original Grandma version calls for a yeast dough base rather than baking powder dough; however, baking powder dough is easier.

Cottage Cheese Cake
Cat at the Zoo
Meatless Main Dishes

Eggplant Casserole

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 3-4 Italian tomatoes
  • 1/2 container cottage cheese
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 slice onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Oregano, fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Parsley, chopped

Slice eggplant and salt. Let drain on paper towels for 15 to 30 minutes. Press to remove excess moisture.

Cook spinach for 5 minutes in salted water and drain. Sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic and green pepper lightly in olive oil. In ovenproof dish, layer eggplant, tomatoes, mushroom mix, cottage cheese and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella. Sprinkle basil and oregano on each layer. Season to taste. May add 1/4 cup thick white sauce if desired. Top with breadcrumbs, remainder of mozzarella and Parmesan. Place in 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes.

Noodles and Dumplings

Plum Dumplings

Ovocné Knedlíky

  • 1-1/4 T butter
  • 4 oz. cottage cheese
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1-3/4 cups flour
  • 12 fresh plums, halved and pitted
  • Boiling salted water
  • 3 T melted butter
  • 6 T sugar

Cream butter, cottage cheese, egg yolk and salt; add milk. Stir in flour. Stir until dough leaves side of bowl and is not sticky. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes. Roll dough on floured board into a rectangle about 9 x 12″ and 1/4″ thick. Place a plum half in center and wrap dough around it into a round ball. Drop into boiling salted water. Cover and cook for 8 mins.; remove and drain. Sprinkle with melted butter and sugar.

Plum dumplings
A cat by Kati, satisfied, perhaps, at having just eaten a plum dumpling.
Noodles and Dumplings

Dumplings filled with cottage cheese

Bryndzove pirohy

  • 1-1/4 lb boiled potatoes
  • 1/2 lb flour
  • 1 egg
  • bacon
  • salt
  • sour cream for serving

Filling:

  • 1/2 lb cottage cheese
  • 2/3 cup grated boiled potatoes
  • chopped dill
  • 1 egg
  • salt

Pirohy: Peel the boiled potatoes, grate them and add flour, egg and salt. Make a dough, and roll it out into a thin round shape on a baking-board. Carve out the circles with form or with water glass, put on it cottage cheese filling, fold the dough over, press margins well, and boil in salted bubbling hot water. When they emerge on the surface, boil a little more and take out. Spread with fried bacon and serve with sour cream or yoghurt.

Filling: Mix cottage cheese with boiled, cooled and grated potatoes, add cut dill, egg, and a bit of sour cream. Mix well. The mixture must be quite thick.

Breads and Pancakes

Kifli

Rich crescent rolls filled with nuts or cheese, very similar to Hungarian beigli.

  • 1/2 cup warm milk
  • 2 T yeast
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 6 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 lb. butter
  • 1 t salt
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1-1/2 cups sour cream

Dissolve yeast in warm milk with 1 tbsp sugar. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour, butter and salt until crumbly.

Form a well in center and add the yolks, sour cream and yeast mixture. Knead lightly.

Refrigerate overnight, covered. Roll into tennis-sized balls. Roll each ball into a circle. Fill and roll into crescents (see fillings, below). Let rise.

Bake at 350F until golden.

Nut Filling:

Beat 1 egg. Add 1 cup ground nuts, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 T cinnamon.

Cheese Filling:

Combine 1/2 lb. cottage cheese, 2 to 4 T sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon peel, 1/2 cup raisins

Noodles and Dumplings

Pirogy

Pierogi, also known as Verenyki

Pierogies are a type of dumpling stuffed with cottage cheese and served with heaps of fried onions and sour cream.

Pierogies evoke in me a mild love/hate response. They were definitely part of our childhood gastronomical experience, and while I didn’t find them terribly exciting (rather greasy with the fried onions, actually), they seemed to provoke fierce enthusiasm in the rest of the family. How could I go against that flow?

So, for you Pierogy lovers everywhere, here is the recipe:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 egg
  • Water
  • 1/2 lb cottage cheese (can be mixed with coarsely-mashed potatoes)
  • 2 T sour cream
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 t salt
  • Fried onions and extra sour cream (optional)

For the dumpling envelopes:

Sift flour and salt into bowl; make a depression in center and drop in egg. Moisten with water to make stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Divide dough in half and roll to 1/8″ thick. Cut into 2-1/2 to 3″ circles.

For the filling:

Mash cottage cheese (and mashed potatoes if using)  with 2 T sour cream, eggs and salt. Mix well.

Preparation:

Place 1 heaping teaspoonful of cheese on lower half of circle; moisten edge of top half with water and fold. Press edges together.

Drop into a large kettle of boiling water. Cook for 5-7 minutes, counted after water returns to boiling.

Serve with fried onions and sour cream. Some people like to brown the drained pierogies with the fried onions in a pan before serving.