Cottage Cheese Casserole with Semolina and Orange Zest Recipe

Step-by-step recipe

1. For a perfect, tasty casserole, it is best to buy homemade cottage cheese that is as fresh as possible and not sour. Depending on how the milk was soured, cottage cheese can often be noticeably tangy. This is not a flaw, but rather a feature of the particular product. So when buying it, just taste it. Besides, good homemade cottage cheese is very “grainy”, and you can clearly see it. Soak 50 g of raisins in advance; seedless ones are best.
   
2. A small batch of the cottage cheese mixture is easy to make in a large bowl with an ordinary kitchen mixer. Put all the cottage cheese (500 g) into a deep bowl and pour in the milk (200 ml). Using the mixer on low speed, beat the cottage cheese with the milk into a smooth, “creamy” mixture, or use a blender, whichever you prefer. You can do the same with an ordinary fork, although it will take longer and more effort.
   
3. Grate the zest from a small orange and add it to the mixture. Orange zest makes the bake especially fragrant. Add vanilla sugar (1 tsp), a pinch of vanillin or a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Then crack two eggs into the bowl and add the sugar (3 tbsp).
   
4. Stir the mixture slowly so it becomes airy and smooth. We use semolina to thicken the mixture. It is a simple, easy-to-find product, and surely everyone has eaten semolina porridge. Add enough semolina to make the casserole base stretchy and fairly thick, about 3 or 4 tablespoons. At the very end, stir in the soaked raisins, draining them well. After that, leave the casserole mixture to rest for 20-25 mins. During this time the semolina swells, and this is important.
   
5. What kind of dish to bake it in is a matter of taste. To my taste, the bake is better tall, so we use a dish with a small base and high sides. Grease the bottom and sides of the dish with butter. Pour all the cottage cheese mixture into the greased dish and immediately put it into an oven preheated to 200°C. By the way, if you want a golden top, you can brush it with beaten egg during baking once the top has set a little. Sometimes the top is brushed with melted butter or sour cream, but that can make a diet dish richer.
   
6. It is hard to say in advance how long the dish will take. It depends a lot on the consistency of the mixture. Usually 40-45 mins is enough, and you can see that the surface has “set”. Often at the very end of baking the surface puffs up a little, but it sinks almost immediately as it cools, and that is normal. The part of the bake touching the bottom and sides of the dish always browns.
   
7. Once cooled but still warm, the cottage cheese casserole comes away easily from the sides of the dish. It is best to transfer it to a large plate or cutting board. Cut the golden, fragrant bake into portions with a sharp knife and put them on serving plates. Although many people prefer it cold, I like it better fresh and warm.
   
8. When serving, you can garnish the bake with a sprig of mint, orange slices, or fresh or frozen berries. A little powdered sugar won't hurt either. But in our house this dish is not served without sour cream. You can pour sour cream over a portion or put a small sauce boat of sour cream on the table, whichever you like.