potato cheese varenike

otherwise known as pierogi, these are the jewish variation which go by the yiddish name of varenike(h). part of the difference is that ours are fried after being cooked while the former are served (unfried) after being poached in salted water — both ways are equally delicious. in my family, we only fry them on one side, giving them both texture and colour — one side crispy and golden, the other white and soft.

this is the dairy version [recipe] i always use, especially for the holiday of shavuot. you can save yourself a bit of headache and make the filling the night before and then continue with making the dough the day you'll cook them. just bring the filling to room temperature first as potatoes tend to solidify when cold (take it out of the fridge when you're making the dough).

the dough is amazing to work with — it is very soft and willing to roll out with little coaxing or prodding. it will surely become one of your favourites, too. the dough uses sour cream (recommended) but if you want you can use yogurt. just drain it for a bit before until it has the consistency of sour cream (thick but still 'stir-able').

making these alone is a bit of a "potchkeh" .... ok, let's not lie, it is a lot of work, especially if you decide to make the full recipe all on the same day (i'm a glutton for punishment). having an extra set of hands speeds up the process but it can be done on your own if you have the patience. just make sure those extra hands are willing to carry through the arduous varenike making task. it's at least 2 to 3 hours of work just rolling, stuffing & cooking (not including {pre-made} filling, if you've done it). (and someone reading this — you know who you are — knows EXACTLY what i am talking about! LOL)

the reward will be your own vareneke which can be frozen after cooking*. both the dough and filling can be doubled to yield approximately 110 varenike for big batch cooking.

serve with golden brown fried onions and lots of sour cream! :))


potato cheese varenike

makes approximately 55 varenike

ingredients:

varenike (pierogi) dough:

1 large egg
1 c sour cream
1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp oil
2 1/4 c AP flour

(dough recipe from j. smith)

potato cheese filling:

4 - 5 medium sized potatoes (more towards the smaller size than larger)
1/2 of a 500 gram (1lb) container/pkg creamy cottage cheese
1 medium-large onion
~1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder & garlic powder, optional

method:

make the filling (first):

peel and cut potatoes in cubes. cook in salted water until they can be easily broken apart.

drain and place in a bowl. mash them well and set aside loosely covered to cool.

add the salt (about 3/4 tsp) and pepper. add more salt, if needed, only at the end of mixing everything .

meanwhile, FINELY mince the onion and fry it in about 2 to 3 tbsp oil or butter. once browned, add it to the mashed potatoes.

take the cottage cheese and mash it well so it is broken down finely. you can also push it through a fine wire strainer provided the holes are large enough — too small and it won't work.

add this to the potato-onion mixture and blend everything.

taste and adjust. remember, it should be a bit on the salty side as the dough is bland. don't however "go mental" adding tons of salt!


for the dough:

couldn't be simpler — mix all the ingredients together. knead it for about two minutes until it is well blended and you have a nice dough.

let it rest for about 20 minutes.


making the varenike:

first, fill a large soup pot/dutch oven with water and place on the stove on medium heat. bring it to a boil while making the varenike, then turn the heat down to keep it hot until you're ready to cook them.

divide dough in half.

take one piece and cover the other. roll out the 1/2 portion of dough to about 1/8" thick on a floured board.

using a cutter or a drinking glass, cut out approximately 3 inch circles.

a time saver is to cut out many of them all at once and then place filling on each.

place only about 2 tsp, maximum, in the center of the circle.

form the varenike as follows:

wet the edges of one half of the circle (like making the mouth of a "smiley face") and bring the top half down.

press well to seal the edges.

continue until all are made.

place them on a tea towel covered cookie sheet and keep covered with another tea towel or with plastic wrap. what i do is place them in rows of five on a plate and then cover with plastic wrap. i repeat these rows until i am finished, each row separated by plastic wrap. you can only do this if you are going to use them right away — be forewarned — if you let them sit longer than 20 minutes, any of them touching each other, will fuse together as the dough gets stickier the longer it sits (especially if your kitchen is hot).

*at this point, you can freeze them flat on a tray and then put them in a ziploc for later use; to cook them, don't defrost ..... just cook them as shown below. the potato filling is perfectly fine once cooked from its frozen state (usually potato does not freeze well).

be frugal:

reroll your scraps until it is ALL used up! after removing the lacy bits of dough in between the circles, put it back in a bowl and use it up later.

remember, the more you roll the used dough, the more elastic it becomes and the more resistant it is to not wanting to retract after the rounds are cut. therefore, DO NOT knead it. just gather it and roll it out. the dough is soft enough to come together nicely. it may be a good idea to let it sit for a few minutes after you've rolled it out so the gluten relaxes again.


cooking the varenike:

just before they are all made, unless you have help and are doing it production-line-style, raise the heat of the water to bring it to a boil. it should be salted water.

drop in the varenike in batches.

they will fall to the bottom of the pot.

let them cook until they float and then simmer for 10 minutes, the pot partially covered. remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain.

i usually drain them and add a few tablespoons of oil so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot or to each other (they will if you don't). this is to hold them over until i am ready to fry them.

you can eat them as is with sour cream (i.e. like pierogi) or fry them on one side in butter and oil until browned.

to fry, place them in a frying pan with some oil or oil/butter mixture and let them cook until they are browned on a single side. you can do both but they are better one side only (i feel).

serve them with fried golden brown onions and sour cream!

enjoy!

cheese blintzes

nothing says classic jewish food more than cheese blintzes. these are especially popular for the holiday of shavuot when dairy foods are traditionally eaten.

there are different recipes for the bletlach (blintz leaves or crêpes) and the filling. the one i am posting here is always successful and definitely worth the trouble of making, especially if you like cheese. see the post here for how to make the blintz leaves.

as for the filling, much depends upon where you live and what is available to you in terms of cheese products. i have, over my lifetime, had many different versions. my favourite is always the kind which are dense and with a creamy consistency rather than a dry (gritty, ech!!) one. therefore, the filling i offer here is a mixture of three different cheeses (rather 2 types). and no, i don't add cinnamon! i find it vile mixed with the cheese filling — made that mistake once, never again.

cottage cheese is usually used for the bulk of most cheese blintz fillings. it comes in two types here in north america: dry and "wet". the dry type is usually in a block and tightly compressed. it has a fine grain to it and little liquid. the "wet" types are larger curd and tend to be a bit salty. the wet component is actually the milk/cream content.

for this particular recipe, both types are used in addition to cream cheese. it's a great filling combination. in the recipe, i show two variations for the filling. as i'm sure there are some people who WON'T like a creamy consistency, i show how to make it the more traditional textured way. to please both crowds, i split the ingredients in two and make 1/2 creamy and 1/2 textured and then combine the two — the best of both worlds.

you can experiment with different cheeses like ricotta mixed with others. the idea, however, is that that the mixture is a DRY one that will not "run" or ooze when it is cooked. the interior filling should be somewhat firm once cooked.

in any event, the recipe yields enough for 20 blintzes. you can freeze them after you form them. it's best to freeze them in batches of 2 or 4 ..... you don't want to defrost 12 when you need 2 for a quick snack!

traditionally, these are served with fresh fruit and sour cream. you can use yogurt or maple syrup or honey, too. all depends on what you like. i've even had them served with whipped cream. there goes the diet!

you can cut the recipes for the filling and blintz leaves in half.


basic cheese blintzes

makes enough for 20 to 24 blintzes

ingredients:

500 g (1 lb) dry cottage cheese
1/2 of a 500 g container regular cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese (philadelphia style)

1 small lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
5 to 6 tbsp sugar

2 egg yolks

*****

make the bletlach or "leaves" first. in other words, the crepes ..... see here. these can be done in advance and filled the next day.

*****

method:

a note about the main ingredients before starting:

the dry cottage cheese looks like this:

it is tight grained with very little liquid.

to use it in this recipe, just remove it from the package. there should be minimal liquid. if there is a lot, then you can drain it first.

in north america, cottage cheese can be bought in dry form — usually used for baking — and in a creamy form with larger curds (of cheese). this is the everyday kind of cottage cheese people use to eat on its own or prepared some other way.

the "wet" kind of cottage cheese looks like this and comes in plastic 500 g containers.

before starting the recipe, prepare the creamy style cottage cheese by rinsing it in a fine strainer to remove the liquid content.

what you will be left with are the curds of cheese. it won't seem like much but that is all you need for this recipe.

the best cream cheese to use looks like this:


the filling can be made two ways — it depends what you like in terms of texture.

1. completely smooth

to make it this way, all you need to do is blend all the ingredients together. it is best to cut up the cream cheese in smaller pieces and make sure it is at room temperature. i am using a small food processor so it has to be done in two batches.


2. textured

for this version, you need to combine the cream cheese, lemon juice and sugar first and process it until completely smooth.

once that is done, add the remaining ingredients and pulse until incorporated (or until you get the consistency you like).

putting it all together —

important: count the number of blintzes you made and divide the filling equally. do NOT overfill them. i use between 38 to 42 grams of filling per 24 blintzes (i weigh the filling and divide).

fill the blintzes the same way you would for making a spring/egg roll:

note: you place the filling on the side which was exposed to the bottom of the crêpe pan! the exposed rolled up blintz should be yellowish.

at this point, you can freeze them or continue on. if you freeze, don't place them next to each other or they'll stick when frozen. place them on a tray and freeze them as single units and then put them in well closed ziplocs (nylon/plastic) bags.

once the blintzes are filled, fry in butter over medium heat on both sides until golden.

serve with fresh fruit like blueberries and/or strawberries and sour cream.

enjoy!

more, please!

i have to admit, i have a deep weakness for all baked goods such as the following european-style torte — everything about it is good, from the buttery shortbread-like crust to the sweet cream cheese filling and cinnamon apple topping accented by sliced almonds. it is also one of the simplest desserts to make, especially if you've assembled your (mis en place) ingredients the night before you bake. the apples, however, need to wait just until you make the torte.

once you've tried it, you'll see all the ingredients work wonderfully together. it's great for entertaining, a fancy meal or just because.

definitely, a keeper :)


european-style apple torte

a nice addition to your baking repertoire, this dessert looks like you've put a lot of effort into something which really takes very little. measuring out most of your ingredients beforehand saves you time and simplifies the whole process — the only tedious part is peeling and cutting (and maybe placing?) the apples. the crust is also one of the easiest you'll work with as there is absolutely no rolling involved or prebaking!

crust ingredients:

1/2 c butter, soft
1/3 c sugar
1 pkg vanilla sugar, optional
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 c all purpose flour

cheese layer ingredients:

1 pkg (8 oz/25o g) cream cheese, room temp.
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c sugar
1 egg

apple layer ingredients:

2 large baking apples* (plus 1 extra, just in case)
1/3 c sugar
1/2 - 3/4 tsp cinnamon

*peaches can also be used instead; if using apples make sure they taste good and are the appropriate kind for baking (i always advise trying one before using — if they have little or no taste when eating them or the texture is mealy, chances are they'll be even less geshmak once baked and all will be for naught). i use either macintosh or cortland in this one.

**the final crust is like a shortbread due to its ingredients and manner of baking. it is baked once as a whole and patted in the pan rather than being rolled out.

1/4 c sliced almonds, opt.

you need a springform pan (8.5 inches)

method:

make the crust by creaming together the butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. mix until well blended.

add the flour and mix only until blended.

place the dough in the ungreased 8 1/2" springform pan. the dough will be soft but very workable. you can chill it for a little while, if you wish but there is really no need to.

with your fingers and hand, pat and press the dough in evenly across the bottom of the pan and up the sides about 1 1/2 inches. make sure it is even. use the length of your index finger to press into the inner edge so that it is not too thick between the bottom of the crust and the walls of it.

set aside.

make the cheese filling by mixing everything together in a medium sized bowl.

mix for about 2 or 3 minutes. it needs to be perfectly smooth and not grainy. this is why it is important to have the cream cheese at room temperature.

place the cheese filling in the unbaked crust.

smooth it all around. place aside.

preheat the oven to 450F at this point.

peel and slice the apples into 1/8" slices. it's important to cut them to the right thickness as the texture will be too chunky if they are thicker and you won't have enough apple slices

now the "hard" part: placement of the apples. there are two ways to do it — the "G-d give me patience" way or the lazy laissez-faire way of gently dumping, errr... placing, the apples over the filling without any definite pattern.

getting the apples to layer perfectly is a skill best learned through practice; it also requires patience as the apples don't always like to participate. so if you don't care or don't have patience, opt for method 2.

to layer the apples, it is done in 3 stages:

layer 1:

place the apples around the outer perimeter carefully, taking your time. when you get to the first apple you layered, lift it to add the last one.


layer 2:

repeat layer 1

layer 3:

you will only need a few apples for this one and it is the most difficult. play around with it a bit to make it look neat and presentable. (don't stress as it will be partially covered by the next step and covered in almonds, if using).

now mix the sugar and cinnamon together.

with a spoon, distribute the mixture evenly all over the apples.

at this point, you spread the almonds evenly over the apples. you can skip this if you like but it does add texture and taste.

bake for 10 minutes only @ 450 F and then reduce the heat right away to 400 F and cook for another 25 minutes.

remove and let cool completely.

gently run a knife around the cooled torte and release the spring siding.

let the torte sit several hours in the fridge for it to firm up properly. it is not ready to eat right after baking. best served slightly cold or at room temperature.

dust with confectioners sugar if you like or serve with whipped cream dollops.

enjoy!