Recipe for: Dumplings with cottage cheese and grilled young onions - photo 1
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Recipe for: Dumplings with cottage cheese and grilled young onions

European cuisine Regional Cuisine of Poland 45 min Easy 0 views ~32.27 PLN - (0)
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Description

Traditional Greater Polish pyry z gzikiem is a simple summer dish made of boiled potatoes served with creamy cottage cheese (gzik) and aromatic grilled young onions. The dish comes from Greater Polish cuisine, where "pyry z gzikiem" were a staple of home cooking — now with a summer twist: grilled spring onion adds a smoky aroma and sweetness, while optional crispy bacon bits or a piece of butter add depth of flavor. The dish is light, filling, and perfect for a picnic, a garden dinner, or as a simple lunch on hot days. Serve hot, with fresh chives and cold kefir or buttermilk as a complement.

Ingredients Used

Ingredients (10)

Servings:
4
  • Potatoes 6.7 pcs (~1000 g)
  • Cottage cheese 400 g
  • Sour cream 80 g
  • Spring onion 4 bunch (~200 g)
  • Rapeseed oil 15 g
  • 🌿 Spices
  • Salt 0.1 pinch (~4 g)
  • Black pepper 4 pinch (~2 g)
  • ✨ Optional
  • Chives 0.3 bunch (~30 g)
  • Smoked bacon 100 g
  • Butter 30 g
💰 Estimated dish cost: ~32.27 PLN (8.07 PLN/serving)

💡 Click an ingredient to mark it as used

Preparation steps

Preparing the potatoes

1

Wash the potatoes under running water with a vegetable brush, do not peel the skin (potatoes are served with the skin). Place them in a large pot in a single layer, cover with cold water so that the water is about 2 cm above the potatoes. Add 4 g of salt (about 1 flat teaspoon). Put the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, once boiling reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 18–25 minutes depending on the size – check with a fork: the fork should easily go into the potato without resistance. After cooking, drain in a colander and let sit for 2 minutes to allow some steam to escape.

Ingredients: Salt
Use a large pot with a lid. Check doneness in a few of the largest pieces. Do not cook on too high heat (they will become mushy and lose flavor).

Gzik

2

In a large bowl, place the cottage cheese (400 g). Using a fork or a potato masher, crumble the cottage cheese into lumps until it is creamy but not completely smooth — the gzik should have texture. Add 80 g of sour cream and mix with a fork until you achieve a uniform, slightly fluffy consistency. Season to taste with salt (2 g) and black pepper (1 g) (half of the amount). Taste: the gzik should be spicy and slightly sour, but not too salty.

Ingredients: Cottage cheese, Sour cream, Salt, Black pepper
Use a wide bowl and a fork or wooden spoon. If the mixture is too thick, add another spoonful of cream (about 15 g) – the gzik should be creamy. Do not blend with a mixer, it should retain a light texture.

Grilling the onion

3

Prepare the spring onions (200 g): cut off the roots and slightly trim the ends of the green leaves if they are damaged, leaving most of the green parts. Wipe them with a dry cloth. Drizzle the onions with 15 g of rapeseed oil, gently coat them with your fingers. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat (or prepare the grill) — it should be very hot. Place the onions with the white part down and grill for 2–3 minutes until there is a noticeable browning and slight charring, turn them over and grill for another 2 minutes until the onions soften and the green parts are slightly charred. Remove and set aside for 1–2 minutes to cool.

Ingredients: Spring onion, Rapeseed oil
Use a grill pan with a diameter of at least 24 cm or a grill. Use tongs for flipping. Do not place too many onions at once — they should make contact with the hot surface; otherwise, they will steam instead of grill.

Finishing the cheese spread

4

Chop the slightly cooled grilled onion into pieces about 1 cm (white and green parts), add to the bowl with the gziki and gently mix. Add the remaining salt and pepper to taste (if needed). If you are using chives (optional), chop them finely and add 1/2 bunch (about 15 g) to the mixture, leaving the rest for sprinkling when serving.

Ingredients: Spring onion, Chives, Salt, Black pepper, Cottage cheese, Sour cream
Use a sharp knife and a cutting board. If the onion has heavily burnt pieces, you can remove them to avoid adding bitterness. Additionally, you can add chives for freshness.

Cracklings (optional)

5

If you want to add cracklings: cut smoked bacon (100 g) into small cubes. Heat a small pan over medium heat and fry the bacon for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain excess fat. Reserve the fat to drizzle over the potatoes if you want a more intense flavor.

Ingredients: Smoked bacon
Use a small pan and a wooden spoon. Do not fry on too high heat as the bacon will burn on the outside. Additionally, you can add smoked bacon for a smoky flavor.

Assembly and serving

6

On a plate, place 2–3 hot potatoes (250 g per person) – you can cut them in half or lightly mash them with the bottom of a spoon to better absorb the gzik. For each serving, add 2–3 tablespoons of gzik (about 100 g per serving). Top with pieces of grilled onion, sprinkle with chives, and optionally add cracklings. If you like, place a small piece of butter on the potato (optional) — it will melt and add creaminess. Serve immediately, preferably with cold kefir or buttermilk.

Ingredients: Cottage cheese, Sour cream, Spring onion, Chives, Smoked bacon, Butter
Use a wide dinner plate. Serve immediately, as the gzik tastes best fresh and cool in contrast to the hot potatoes. Do not leave the gzik out of the fridge for too long.

Fun Fact

💡

In Greater Poland, "pyry z gzikiem" is a folk dish — pyry means potatoes, and gzik is the regional name for cottage cheese with additions. In times when meat was a rarity, this simple combination was a staple of the rural diet.

Best for

letni obiad piknik grillowanie w ogrodzie

Tips

🍽️ Serving

Serve hot potatoes with cold gziki for a contrast in temperature. Serve with sour milk, kefir, or pickled cucumber. For guests, serve the cracklings separately so everyone can add them to taste.

🥡 Storage

Store gzik in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Cooked potatoes are best consumed the same day; they can be cooled and then gently reheated in the oven (160°C, 8–10 minutes). Do not freeze gzik (it will change its consistency).

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