Cottage Cheese Paskha

1. 1 Cottage cheese 9% (tvorog)pack 300 g ≈ $3.00 150 g
2. 2 Butterpack 180 g ≈ $1.60 20 g
3. 3 Sour cream 20%pack 300 g ≈ $1.80 30 g
4. 4 Sugar 15 g
5. 5 Raisinspack 200 g ≈ $2.40 10 g
6. 6 Dried apricotspack 200 g ≈ $3.80 10 g
7. 7 Vanilla sugar 1 g
8. 8 Walnutspack 150 g ≈ $4.00 8 g

Grey rows are pantry staples: salt, oil, spices. They are not counted in the serving price.

Method

1. Rub the cottage¹ cheese through a sieve or blend it until completely smooth—no lumps should remain.

2. Cream the softened butter² with sugar and vanilla sugar, then fold in the sour³ cream and cottage¹ cheese until fully combined.

3. Rinse the raisins⁵ and chop the dried⁶ apricots into small cubes; roughly chop any nuts if using, then mix into the batter.

4. Line a paskha mold or colander with two layers of damp cheesecloth, fill with the mixture, and level the top. Drape the cheesecloth over it.

5. Place a small plate and a light weight on top, then refrigerate for 12 hours to drain the whey. Unmold onto a plate and remove the cheesecloth.