Cheese Dumplings [Käse Spätzle] or Túró Galuska is an Austrian dish made with either farmer’s cheese or with drained cottage cheese. It is best eaten with sauerkraut and caramelized onions. It takes a little while to drain the cottage cheese, but the actual preparation goes fairly quickly. As far as pasta dishes go, Cheese Dumplings are fairly light, because cottage cheese is the dominant feature and not the flour. Cheese Dumplings can also be eaten sweetened, but in general it is known as a savory dish.
COTTAGE CHEESE DUMPLINGS
1-1/3 cups well drained 2% cottage cheese
1-1/3 cups flour
salt to taste
3 eggs, lightly whisked
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup crispy bacon bits [optional]
2 sprigs of fresh dill weed chopped [optional]
• Drain a 500ml tub of 2% cottage cheese for a couple of hours.
• Set aside the liquid for some other use.
• Put a large pot of water to the boil.
• Place the drained cottage cheese in a bowl.
• Using a potato masher, break up the curds as best as you can.
• Add the flour, salt and combine.
• Stir in the whisked eggs.
• Let the dough rest for half an hour.
• Dip a teaspoon into the boiling water.
• Scoop up a spoonful of cottage cheese batter and drop it into the boiling water.
• If the dumpling falls apart add a little more flour to the bowl, mix and let rest for 15 minutes.
• If the next dumpling survives repeat until the pot is comfortably filled with dumplings.
• Turn the dumplings over and cook for 1 minute. Do not overcook.
• Scoop out with a large slotted spoon and plunge the dumplings into a large bowl of cold water.
• Repeat until all the dumplings are cooked.
• Drain the dumplings into a large sieve.
• Run cold water over them until the water runs clear.
• Let the dumplings drain for ten minutes.
• Transfer dumplings into a heatproof serving bowl and pour melted butter on the top.
• Place a microwaving plastic dome on the top and reheat dumplings until piping hot.
• Sprinkle the top with chopped dill weed and crumbled bacon bits if using.
• Serve the dumplings with sauerkraut and caramelized onion slices.
