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Gzik is a cottage cheese spread and the protein powerhouse you have been looking for. If you are a fan of savoury breakfast then this dish will become a regular part of your breakfast menu.

I feel like cottage cheese is the yogurt of the 20th century. People know about it, they may even mention it but you don’t ever see anyone snapping a photo of their cottage cheese breakfast.

It is high in protein, calcium, and many essential vitamins and minerals. One serving of Gzik, the Polish name for this spread, contains 28g of protein, 221mg of calcium, and 473IU of Vitamin A. That’s approximately 17%, 9%, and 15% of the daily recommended intake, respectively (for an average male). What’s not to like?

Perhaps it’s a bit daunting. There are many varieties of cottage cheese. I used to think that cottage cheese only came pressed and dry. This is the only way I knew it growing up. As such, I have always made this recipe with sour cream and dry-curd pressed cottage cheese. I have to say it was a lot more work and doesn’t taste much different.

This recipe calls for creamy cottage cheese to save us a little hassle and extra ingredients. The wet cottage cheese also makes this spread much more creamy which of course makes it perfect for, you guessed it, spreading!

I am telling you that this cottage cheese spread is just as easy as a yogurt parfait. Save this Gzik recipe because I promise you’ll be coming back over and over again.

Preparing the Cottage Cheese Spread

The Ingredients

Cottage Cheese: As I already mentioned there are many varieties of cottage cheese. The most common variety that is available in most grocery stores is wet cottage cheese. You may have an option between small curd or large curd. All this means is that the granules, or curds, are a different size. For this recipe, the choice is based simply on personal preference.

Radishes: Radishes add a little bit of spice to this recipe.
They have a sharp taste that pairs very nicely with the blandness of cottage cheese. The most commonly available type is the Cherry Belle Radish which works wonderfully in this recipe. If you prefer a milder taste see if they have French Breakfast radishes. They are sweeter and generally have a milder flavour. You can add as many or as few as you like to the spread, it’s really up to your taste.

Green Onions: Green onions add freshness to the spread. They are milder than onions but bolder than chives. You can skip the whites of the green onion if you don’t want to get too close to the sharper onion-like taste. You can add more or less to the cottage cheese spread, depending on your preference.

How to make Gzik Cottage Cheese Spread

Take the cottage cheese out of the packaging and put it into a medium bowl.

Trim and wash the radishes. Makes sure that you give them a little scrub under

the cold water to remove remnants of soil. Since we are not peeling them and they are in fact root vegetables the likelihood of soil is high.

Once you have washed the radishes, thinly slice each one. The easiest way is to cut each radish in half, lay it down cut side down and then slice.

You can also chop the radishes into small cubes or spears. However, you prefer to chop will work well here as long as the pieces aren’t too big. The bigger the radishes the more they will take over each bite.

Next, wash and chop the green onions. You can just use the greens if you prefer the slightly milder flavour and softer texture.

The whites of the green onions are sharper and crunchier than the greens. If you do choose to add the whites to the cottage cheese spread, be sure to slice them thinly so they don’t overpower the cottage cheese.

Lastly, add the salt and ground black pepper and stir everything until well combined.

If you have the time to make this spread ahead, the longer it sits the better it will taste. Even just a half-hour will help the flavour merry. It will keep in the fridge, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Serving Cottage Cheese Spread

There are many ways to serve this cottage cheese spread. The simplest of course is all on its own.

To serve it as a spread, slice a baguette diagonally, spread some butter on each slice, and toast a little in the oven. Top with cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds.

You can also keep it simple like me and spread the cottage cheese on a focaccia bun.

Finally, you can serve it as a dip. Put it in a bowl and surround the bowl with your favourite selection of crackers.

Substitutions

Cottage Cheese: For this recipe, I used wet small curd cottage cheese. You can use dry-curd pressed cottage cheese instead. If pressed cottage cheese is your preference, you will have to add sour cream or plain yogurt to this dish. Add a 1/4 cup of either and if you find you prefer a more spreadable texture add more, one tablespoon at a time.

Green Onions: If you like a sharper taste, feel free to substitute the green onion with white onions. It is sweeter than a yellow onion but still carries a nice sharpness. If you prefer a milder taste, on the other hand, chives are also a great substitution.