About this Recipe

Dishes like pierogi take time to prepare, so if you have the filling ready, it will cut the time down a great deal when you are making the dough and assembling the pierogi. When it comes to easy entertaining dinner ideas, planning ahead is the key. In Grandmother's kitchen we do everything possible to make the day of guests coming over go smoothly and we like to spend as much time with guests and as little time in the kitchen as we can. Shortcuts can be so helpful and this potato cottage cheese filling recipe is one that is perfect for pierogi. It is also perfect for a lazy lasagna or stuffing large shell noodles or manicotti noodles. Some meals are more time consuming than others to prepare.

Grandmother’s TIPS for Potato Cottage Cheese Filling recipe:

1. Plan the timing of the preparation of this filler so that you are working with boiled potatoes that are hot enough to manage when taking the skins off.

2. The potatoes need to be warm enough to melt the cheese and butter when you are to the mashing stage.

3. Measure specific amounts into your ziploc bags when freezing foods that you plan to use in recipes later. That way you know you already have the correct amount needed and only need to thaw the specific amount for the recipe.

4. The potato cottage cheese filling recipe makes a large batch of 8 cups. You can use right away or portion and freeze it for later.

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Ingredients

(Print)

Makes: 8 cups filling perfect to stuff pierogi, make a layered lazy pierogi, stuff pasta shells or manicotti

6 large russet potatoes

1 medium size onion, diced + 1 Tablespoon butter to saute the onions in

1/4 cup salted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces (you will mash into the cooked potatoes)

200kg cheese, mild, we use Monterey jack (about 1 cup when grated)

600 grams dry curd cottage cheese

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Directions

1. Start by washing the the potatoes. Boil whole with the skins still on. When the potatoes are cooked, you will be able to spear them with a knife that will go through the center easily, drain the water out. Let them sit until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin and put them back into the pot you boiled them in.

2. While the potatoes are boiling prepare the onions. Dice onions into very small pieces . We used a Mandoline Slicer which makes the job take seconds, but you and also chop by hand.

3. Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter into a frying pan, add the diced onions and cook until tender and just golden brown. Shut off. Set aside.

4. Grate the cheese with a medium fine grater into a bowl.

5. Using a hand potato masher, mash the room temperature butter and potatoes together working out the lumps. Add the cooked onions and mash in. Add the grated cheese and continue to mash in. The warmth of the potatoes will melt the cheese.

6. Put the dry curd cottage cheese into a large bowl. Break in the two eggs and stir together. Add the salt and stir in.

Note: Dry curd cottage cheese is very lumpy. Use a hand immersion blender to blend the eggs and cottage cheese curds into a smooth mass.

7. Fold the cheese mixture into the potato mixture until evenly combined.

8. The filler is ready to use now in a recipe or you can freeze for later use.

9. If freezing it is a good idea to portion it out as most recipes are not going to call for 8 cups of filling.

10. Divide the filler into 2 cup portions.

11. Put into Ziploc freezer bags. Gently press into flat packages and seal. It is always a good idea to label what is in the package. Place into the freezer until you are ready to use.

ENJOY!

Return to this Potato Cottage Cheese Filling recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

If you are wondering what to cook for a dinner party, pull out those best family recipes that you know are sure winners. Potatoes recipes are easy and there are literally hundreds of ways to prepare potatoes. Casseroles and slow cooker meals are good choices.

Let's talk a little about potatoes. Our mother loved potatoes and the fact that you could prepare them so many ways. Potatoes are so good for you when they are prepared in healthy ways and eaten in moderation. They have gained a bad reputation because of some of the methods of preparation, like potato chips for example,which are lower in nutrient density per calories, so it is easier to eat more calories without being satisfied (1).

If you just take the potato and bake or boil it, you end up with a food that has many nutrients. Potatoes are a rich source of potassium, a good source of vitamin C and a source of fiber and folate. Potato skins are a good source of fiber, so leave them on when you can! (2)

References

(1)"How to win friends and influence people (using nutrition research)," Examine.com, published on 1 November 2016, last updated on 22 October 2018, https://examine.com/nutrition/erd-2yearanniversary/

(2) All About Potatoes (June 15, 2017), Retrieved from http://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Cooking-Food-Preparation/All-about-potatoes.aspx