Creamy Gzik (Polish Cottage Cheese Dip) Recipe

If you're not familiar with gzik, it's a versatile cottage cheese spread from Poland that's full of understated and delicious flavor. Gzik comes from the Polish provinces of Wielkopolska and Kujawy, and it's traditionally made with twaróg, a dry farmer's cheese that comes pressed in discs. The cheese is mashed and mixed with sour cream or plain yogurt to add back moisture and make it the perfect creamy consistency. Then, radishes and other ingredients, such as fresh dill, chives, or other alliums, are mixed into the spread for the finishing touch.

Twaróg or other farmer's cheeses may be hard to find, so recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for gzik that uses store-bought cottage cheese mixed with Greek yogurt to achieve the same, creamy result. Since twaróg is basically a dry cottage cheese, this recipe is similar to the original. Radishes, chives, and dill are mixed into the cheese to add a slightly spicy flavor, fresh herby notes, and a little crunch, all of which complement the mild cheese. Gzik is traditionally served over baked potatoes or for breakfast on buttered rye bread. Cottage cheese is a popular choice for nutrient-rich diets, so this could be a great new way to start your day. If you're anything like us, you just may fall in love with this delightful, easy-to-make recipe.

For this recipe, you will need cottage cheese. Look for small-curd cottage cheese, because large-curd versions will be lumpier, and the traditional recipe made with dry farmer's cheese is smooth. You'll use a little Greek yogurt to mix with the cheese and make it even creamier. Have radishes, chives, and dill on hand for mixing with the cheese. Finally, grab some salt for the final seasoning.

Wash and chop the radishes. Set aside.

Place the cottage cheese in a medium bowl, add the Greek yogurt, and stir to mix. You can add more or less yogurt depending on the creaminess of your cottage cheese.

Add the radishes and chives, and stir to mix.

Stir in salt, to taste, and garnish with dill.

Serve on buttered bread or potatoes, if desired.

Gzik is versatile and can be served in many ways. The first is to serve it as a spread. Spooning gzik onto buttered rye bread is a traditional way to eat it in Poland, and it's certainly tasty, but you can opt to leave the butter off and use other kinds of bread if you prefer. Sliced baguette or other bakery breads would also be a nice vehicle for this creamy spread.

Another traditional Polish way to serve gzik is as a topping for baked potatoes in the dish pyry z gzikiem, or "potatoes and gzik." Bake the potatoes with the skin on and serve them whole or cut in halves or quarters before adding the spread. If baked potatoes aren't your favorite, you can take a less traditional route and spoon some fresh and flavorful gzik onto potatoes cooked in other ways, such as fried or mashed. Gzik can also be served as a dip. Grab some crackers or sliced raw vegetables and enjoy. Finally, we can't resist eating this delicious spread right off the spoon, so we won't tell if you choose to do the same.

There are a few different ways to make gzik that result in a similar dish. The traditional way to make it is with the farmer's cheese twaróg. Twaróg is dry, so it's mashed and then mixed with plain yogurt or sour cream to achieve a creamy consistency. Farmer's cheese isn't widely available, so this recipe uses purchased cottage cheese instead, which is already wet. The cheese is mixed with a small amount of yogurt for additional creaminess, but you can opt to mix it with sour cream instead of yogurt or even leave it out if you feel the cheese is already creamy enough.

Different families have their own way to make gzik, but radishes are generally always present. Spicier radishes contrast nicely with the mild cheese, but if you're not a fan of spice, consider substituting in French Breakfast radishes or other milder varieties. Some people mix in other vegetables, such as cucumbers, too. Then, there is an allium, which is often chives, but it could also be scallions or white onions, which are sweeter than yellow onions. The last ingredient is a fresh herb like dill, but not every recipe includes herbs, so you can leave it out or use other common types of fresh herbs according to your taste.