What to cook with cottage cheese: 5 recipes

How to choose and store cottage cheese (tvorog)

Tvorog is drier and more crumbly than the wet, lumpy cottage cheese sold in many countries. If you can't find it, look for farmer's cheese or quark; if you only have wet cottage cheese, drain it in a sieve lined with a cloth for an hour or two. For syrniki and zapekanka, 5–9% fat gives a tender, rich result; very low-fat tvorog makes them drier and needs a spoon of sour cream.

Fresh tvorog smells clean and milky, slightly sour, never bitter or yeasty. Keep it in a closed container on a cold shelf and use it within two or three days of opening. It can be frozen for baking, though it becomes more crumbly.

Tips for tender syrniki and a smooth casserole

• Press out excess moisture. Wet tvorog forces you to add more flour, and syrniki turn heavy. Squeeze it in a cloth if it looks watery.
• Rub it through a sieve or blend briefly for zapekanka and vatrushki filling; the texture becomes silky with no grains.
• Add flour gradually. Use just enough to shape syrniki and lazy vareniki; dough that is too firm makes them tough.
• Fry syrniki on medium heat under a lid for the first side, so the centre warms through before the crust darkens.

A tvorog week: what to cook

• Monday: sugar-free cottage cheese dessert with banana and berries, ten minutes in a glass.
• Wednesday: lazy vareniki for a quick warm breakfast.
• Friday: baked cottage cheese casserole, cut into squares for the weekend.
• Saturday: syrniki with sour cream and jam.
• Sunday baking: vatrushki with tvorog for tea.

Batch cooking, kids and budget

Shape a double batch of syrniki or lazy vareniki and freeze them raw on a tray; fry or boil straight from frozen. Zapekanka keeps three days in the fridge and is good cold. Vatrushki freeze well once cooled.

Children often prefer zapekanka and lazy vareniki with a little sour cream or fruit; you can add raisins or grated apple to make them sweeter with less sugar. A big pack of tvorog is usually cheaper per kilo, and these recipes use it up easily.