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Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)

Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)From all the foods I liked in childhood I loved my mums cooked food the most. My mum was never a good cook, in fact only recently she started feeling passion for baking. But I really liked varškėčiai that she used to make (although I realised that they were slightly different to compare to other curd cheese dumplings that I have ever tasted). Traditionally varškėčiai are soft type dumplings that are often served with jam and sour cream. My mum used to add more flour into them making them more pasta like and served savoury with sour cream and butter. So it’s up to you what way you want to make them (less flour or more), but I decided to go with savoury and serve it with pesto (oh it was so yummy! I think I might be the first one to try them this way!).Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)Varškėčiai are very simple to make, almost like gnocchi, except no need to prep anything ahead. Just mix three ingredients together into the dough and make the dumplings.

VARŠKĖČIAI serves 2

  • 250g plain quark (it came slightly different to what I am used to, but it works as fine)
  • 1 egg
  • 5-8 heaped tbsp plain flour

Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)1. Mix the egg with the quark and gradually add flour into the mix until the dough can be handled (so it does not stick too much onto the fingers).

2. Make varškėčiai dumplings  in the same way as you would make gnocchi dumplings. Roll the ball of dough into the “sausage” and slice it into small bits. Lay the dumplings onto floured plates ready to be cooked.Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)3. To cook varškėčiai drop them into the salted boiling water and cook them this way for 2 minutes until the dumplings float to the top (I usually fish them out from the top with the slotted spoon when they rise). Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)Serve with sour cream and pesto of your choice.Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

3 Responses to Varškėčiai with pesto (Lithuanian curd cheese dumplings with the twist)

  1. Rob June 7, 2018 at 12:50 am #

    Nice pics and write-up. A young man working for me said it’s the thing he misses from his childhood in Lithuania. So, I am going to make these soon. Looks rash enough. I have a Ukranian recipe in a cookbook that uses feta. My employee says it’s cottage cheese. I’ll probably try feta first because i have it at home. I have some store-bought pesto as well. That sounds great!

  2. Rob June 7, 2018 at 12:51 am #

    *easy enough.

    • Rasa Pelham June 7, 2018 at 9:42 am #

      Never used feta for this but I agree it is slightly similar to quark. Let us know how you get on ;-).

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