Lazy Dumplings

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Full recipe

Recently I have been really enjoying making simple cottage cheese dishes, which were popular in my childhood, but fell out of my life for a certain period of time. So zapekanka, syrniki and lazy dumplings (aka Lazy Vareniki) returned to our family diet, which is what this recipe is about.

I loved eating lazy dumplings both in kindergarten and at home. Yes, and let’s be honest, they didn’t taste much different, because the ingredients in the classic recipe are the same: cottage cheese, flour, egg and sugar. We won’t deviate much from the classics, but we will add a little touch to the dumplings that will make them even tastier.

First, let’s decide on cottage cheese (350 g), which will be the base for the lazy dumplings. You can use any kind you like. I usually take crumbly cottage cheese with a fat content of 5%. Now we need to achieve a homogeneous curd, so that the dumplings were more delicate, without grits. You can do this with a sieve if the cottage cheese is soft, or with a blender.

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I don’t really like the sieve option because it is more time consuming, so I use a stationary blender.

We transfer the whipped cottage cheese to a bowl and add the egg, sugar (1 tbsp), a pinch of salt and our secret ingredients.

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As promised, I tell you about a nuance that makes the lazy dumplings more fragrant and delicious – it’s cinnamon (pinch) and lemon zest (1/2 tsp).

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The zest goes well with the curd dough and makes the finished dish taste richer. Always use only the extreme yellow part of the peel, because it contains all the essential oils and does not make it bitter. Stir the contents of the bowl and add the flour (4 tbsp).

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Knead the dough with your hands and make sure that it is elastic enough to be shaped, and not too stiff or liquid.

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Prepare a table or a large board, on which we will make the dumplings. To do this, sprinkle the surface with flour so that the dough does not stick to it. Now divide the dough into several parts, in my case two, and roll out of each sausage.

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The diameter of the sausage should be about the same as a standard 50-gram shot glass. Next, cut the dough portion by portion, measuring about 4 centimeters each.

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Each small piece is dipped in flour and flattened on both sides with your fingers.

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As a result, we get a blank for lazy dumplings, resembling the size and shape of a school eraser.

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There is one last step left – boiling. Here everything is simple. Take a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Throw in a pinch of salt. Put the dumplings in the boiling water and wait until all the dumplings float.

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Then cook for 3 minutes and fish it out with a skimmer.

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Since the dough swells a lot, I recommend cooking the dumplings in small batches.

How long to cook lazy dumplings from the moment of throwing in depends on the number of dumplings that you have thrown into the boiling water. Therefore, always focus on 3 minutes of boiling, after boiling.

Tip

Ready lazy dumplings are tender, juicy and very tasty.

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If you want to make a complete dessert, sprinkle sugar on top of the dish or serve with sweet toppings like chocolate syrup or jam.

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If you prefer a more neutral version of dumplings – use sour cream.

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And be sure to eat the lazy dumplings warm, before the dough has time to flatten.

Bon appetit! Don’t starve 😋