Typical shape
One of my MIL’s special event Hungarian treats were these... these - what to call them?? We always called them “sajtos” - which translates to “cheesies” - not a very sophisticated label.
Having now researched these a bit, I note that some Hungarian sites call them “sajtos rud” - which sort of translates to “cheese stick” or “cheese straw” - but because I cut them into small-ish pieces, "sticks / straws” do not apply.
So in English, let's call them Hungarian Cheese Snacks.
Imagine these as part of a charcuterie / antipasto spread. Or - if it's a trend to serve wine with potato chips - surely these are more classy. When it comes right down to it, I can't think of any time when these would not be a big hit!
Or, cut into rounds
This recipe is based on one from zserbo.com, with some tweaks that, IMHO, make the results outstanding - and a perfect re-creation of my MIL's classic recipe. Since making these the first time I found a very similar recipe in my Mom's recipe box - see Notes if interested.
The first batch was a hit, but Mr. KB and I felt it was just a wee bit off the taste memory I was trying to replicate. We suspected the ingredient to tweak was salt - and it was. This should not have been surprising, since many favourite snacks are salty. See Notes for tips on how I subtly, but effectively, increased the salt, and to read more about some interesting discoveries as I experimented and tweaked.
The recipe makes about 4 dozen of these bite-sized treats. The dough needs to be chilled for at least two hours, ideally overnight. These store well for days in a lightly covered container. They also freeze well. (After thawing, pop them into a low oven a bit to crisp up.)
Typical of European recipes, the ingredients are weighed - time to get a digital scale if you don't already have one. They're not expensive and you'll never regret it! I have offered approximate equivalent measures by volume. (By weight, it's easy to remember as the 250 g x 3 recipe - haha!)
Getting Ready:
ideally, buy Santa Lucia ricotta which is saltier than some other brands (see Notes below)
be sure you have Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese for the topping - I prefer Gruyère
grate the topping cheese (can be done ahead of time)
line two baking sheets with parchment
The dough can be made the day before - I always do this - makes it easier to bake them fresh on serving day
Preheat oven to 350F
250 g (about 2 cups) flour
1 tsp table salt (or more if ricotta is not salty - see Notes)
250 g (about 1 cup; technically 17 TB) cold SALTED butter
250 g (about 1 cup) Santa Lucia Ricotta or Quark (see Notes)
Put the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the cold butter into 1 TB cubes and add to the food processor bowl. Pulse about 10 times until the butter has been incorporated, resulting in a slightly granular mixture.
Distribute the ricotta cheese over the flour mixture, pulse a few times and then run the food processor until the mixture comes together – this will not take long.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for a few minutes. Though this is not a puff pastry, the kneading is how you create the “layers”. Use the typical kneading technique - push twice with the heel of your hand, then fold the dough over and repeat about 4-6 times. That seems to be enough for the dough to bake up into nice layers. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
1 egg
50 g of finely grated cheese - Emmenthal or Gruyère (about 1 cup grated)
Remove the dough from the fridge - a short time at room temperature will make it more workable. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick. Generously brush the top with the well beaten egg - the finely grated cheese will adhere to that.
At this point, you can either cut the dough into desired sized pieces, transfer these to the baking sheet and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
Or - my preference - sprinkle the grated cheese onto the dough before cutting. I find that makes it easier to distribute the cheese evenly, with less “waste” of cheese dropping onto the baking sheet. (You'll probably get two dozen on each baking sheet.)
Bake on sheets lined with parchment in an oven preheated to 350 F, for 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown - that makes them so appetizing!), rotating the baking sheet at the halfway mark.
These store well for days in a lightly covered container. They are delicious even at room temperature but can be crisped up in a 350F oven for a few minutes. They also freeze well.
Update: Had a chat with someone who had the impression that you have to roll the dough out into a square - not so. I aim for a sort of oblong shape, though it is often closer to a round. The end piece cuts will have funny shapes and sizes - they are for the baker!! Without going into too much detail, it seems best to do no more folding of this dough once you are doing the final stage of rolling and cutting.
Notes and Tips...
Recipe found in my Mom's collection...
Salt - I use table salt because I assume that would have been most common in traditional Hungarian recipes. Since I was also aiming for a more salty flavour - table salt delivers. Read my overview of salts and salty - you may be surprised!
Butter - though it is customary to use unsalted butter in baking - for this recipe salted helped the flavour profile.
Ricotta - The original recipe calls for “cottage cheese” - and what could that possibly mean? If this recipe is coming from Hungary, then I’m betting the cheese they’d use would not be “lumpy” cottage cheese that appears in a diet lunch. They’d be using “farmer’s cheese”, also known as “Quark”. I used to buy that easily some decades ago, but now never seem to be able to find it, so I opted for ricotta - and was not able to get my favourite (St. Lucia). After the first batch (which was not optimally flavourful), here’s what I figured out. The popular brand name, traditional ricotta I used the first time had only 40 mg of sodium per serving, whereas St. Lucia has 100 mg for the same serving size. That can make a difference! I advise you to use St Lucia, or check the sodium content of the ricotta you buy. If you cannot find a salty ricotta, add an additional tsp salt to the batter.
Grated Cheese - you want to use a semi-hard cheese with a pronounced flavour. Hungarians love to use Emmenthal; Gruyère is my favourite.
Shape? - the "parallelogram" is a common shape for this snack, but you could use a cookie cutter to make small rounds. Guests may even be tricked into thinking you've made them "pogácsa" - a much more complicated flaky biscuit.
As mentioned in the intro, these were always made by my MIL and I do not recall my mother making them. Much of last year was spent emptying her house and this year I am still sorting through her things - such as recipes. This was stapled to an index card, and not hand-written, so I have to assume someone gave it to her. Amazing how similar it is - except for the added egg and sour cream. I may have to try that one day.
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