This pasta recipe comes from Neszmély, a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, which is the centre of the Neszmély wine region and can be found 70 kilometres from Budapest.
These noodles are a kind of nokedli, but instead of a plain flour batter, they are made with cottage cheese. The dumplings are layered or mixed up (as you like it) with fried bacon pieces and sautéed onions, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, and baked in the oven until cheese melts and turns golden brown.
Ingredients:
- 400 g (~3 1/5 cups) flour
- 400 g (~14 oz) cottage cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g (~7 oz) smoked bacon
- 1 big onion, finely chopped
- 1tbsp lard
- 300 g (~10 oz) sour cream
- 100 g (~3.5 oz) grated cheese
Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil.
Place flour and cottage cheese in a bowl. Add eggs, salt and water in batches (150-250 ml / 2/3 – 1 cup – the quantity depends on the moisture-content of the cottage cheese) to the mixture and combine them to make a thick batter. Push the batter with a spoon through the holes of a dumpling maker into the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the dumplings float, then stray pasta with a colander.
Chop the bacon and fry in a pan until it releases enough lard. Remove the bacon pieces and add finely chopped onions and sauté over medium heat until tender.
Grease a baking pan with lard (you can take the lard from the frying pan the onions were sautéed in). Combine cottage cheese dumplings with crispy bacon and sautéed onions and transfer into the prepared baking pan. Spread sour cream on top and finally cover with grated cheese. Place the pasta into the oven and cook at 180°C / 356°F until top is golden brown.
