Wednesday, May 14, 2014

An easy breakfast: ahjusoojad kohupiimasaiad aka Curd Cheese Toasts



I'm reposting this post from February 2007, as it was listed as one of the 50 of the world's best breakfast dishes over at the hotelbookers.com few days ago. Although I'm trying not to eat too much white bread these days, I stopped at the local supermarket on the way back home from my firstborn's violin class, bought a bloomer, and made these at home. Being an Estonian, I obviously - and rather conveniently - already had some curd cheese at the fridge. And the kids - all three of them - loved these!

Here's an Instragram short of the toasts (you can follow my daily food related pics here):



And here's the original post from all those years ago:

I was flipping through the pages of a tired thin Estonian cookbook called "Kohupiimatoidud" the other day, looking for some nostalgic recipes. The cookbook was published in 1973, a year before I was even born, and is full of recipes utilising curd cheese, one of the very popular ingredients in Estonian kitchen (frequently featured here on Nami-nami blog, as you can see from the long list of curd cheese recipes at the end of this post). One of the recipes that caught my eye was for curd cheese toasts - something my mum used to make quite often to me and my sister. As I still had some white bread left after making Estonian tomato toasts, I decided to make my childhood recipe from the book for breakfast today. Creamy and sweet topping with a hint of vanilla, hot and crispy base - what more can one ask from a breakfast toast!? Of course, this would work just as well as a weekday dessert, especially if there are children in the house..

If you cannot find curd cheese (ask for tvorog in Russian and Polish shops), then try ricotta or fromage fraiche instead. As far as the bread is concerned, then try to get hold of wheat bloomer.

Estonian Curd Cheese Toasts
(Ahjus küpsetatud kohupiimasaiad)
Makes 6 toasts



250 grams curd cheese
3-4 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
vanilla extract or vanilla sugar, to taste
1 Tbsp sour cream or yogurt
6 slices of white bread (bloomer or brioche)

Mix curd cheese with sugar, vanilla, sour cream and egg.

Lay bread slices on a baking sheet, spoon the curd cheese mixture over:


Bake at 200 C for about 15 minutes, until the curd cheese mixture is slightly golden.
Serve warm with a cup of coffee, tea or glass of milk.

Here's a version with raisins: Ahjus küpsetatud kohupiimasaiad / Oven-baked curd cheese toasts

Other curd cheese recipes @ Nami-nami:
Curd Cheese Cake with Grated Apples (November 2006)
Curd Cheese & Apple Souffle (September 2007)
Easter Pashka (April 2006)
Lemony Curd Cheese Cake (May 2006)
Lemony Curd Cheese Tart (March 2006)
Milk Curd Cream with Blueberries (March 2006)
Sõrnikud alias curd cheese patties (plain or with carrots) (January 2006)
Vareniki dumplings with curd cheese filling, served with home-made apricot jam & pistachios (July 2007)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could use a breakfast like this!

Paz (who is late for work)

Alanna Kellogg said...

Aii, so easy. One of those recipes that 'come from the air'. I love all these Estonian-Nordic-northern specialties!!

Anonymous said...

I would love to have this for breakfast! :)

Nice to see what a good time you had with Anne, Dagmar, and Kristina! Always nice to meet up with other bloggers :)

Krentu said...

Ma just mõtlesin täna, et kas teha külmkapis olevast kohupiimast neid saiu või sõrnikuid. Tegin sõrnikuid. Need on minu lapsepõlve saiad ka :) Minetea, ehk emad meil vahetasid ka retsepte :D

lobstersquad said...

what a way to begin the day, you´re so right. now that autum has begun, it seems like the best thing I can think of

Evelin said...

Meil on see igatahes üks tüüpiline seisma jäänud saia kasutamise variant. Aga ilma kaneelita? Ilma kaneelita pole kohupiimasaiu minu jaoks olemas:)

Kevin Kossowan said...

Very interesting. If I need to get in my wife's good books, I think this might do it.

Kärt said...

Tunduvad imemaitsvad aga ma pole küll neid kunagi saanud! Mu ema tegi küll pannkooke ja saiavormi ja muid hõrgutisi, kuid nendest olen küll ilma jäänud...

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

The perfect breakfast -- easy and cheese-y!

K and S said...

looks like a great breakfast!

Gloria Baker said...

Looks how a wonderful breakfast!!! May I have one please?? xxxGloria
I like so your blog.

Anonymous said...

Minu ema tegi ka neid, kui me õega väiksed olime. Väga maitsvad.

Julie said...

Suddenly, I'm very glad to have ricotta cheese in my fridge. These look so good!

Pille said...

Paz - thanks, and I hope you made it in time:)

Alanna - then you're in for a treat, as I've got many more Nordic/Estonian things lined up for you:)

Joey - yes, it was so nice to meet the other bloggers!

Krentu - ma pole jälle tükk aega sõrnikuid teinud, ilmselt aeg jälle ette võtta.

Lobstersquad - indeed, somehow these are a bit autumnal. I've never made them in the summer!?

Evelin - no kaneeliga võib ka, muidugi. Ma ise eelistan küll vaniljega, aga eks see ole maitse asi.

Kevin Kossowan - you mean that it would help you in times of trouble? Who knows:)

Kärt - no kuidas siis nii??? Äkki on see mingi piirkondlik värk, a la vaid teatud linnades/linnaosades:)

Lydia - indeed.

K&S - it was a great breakfast - comforting..

Gloria - thank you, and of course, you're welcome!

Anon - rõõm kuulda!

Julie - yes, I think ricotta cheese would work! I hope :)

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Scott at Real Epicurean said...

I haven't made curd cheese in quite a while now. This recipe looks really great.

Pille said...

Scott, I wonder if your wife recognises this dish? Did they have something similar in Poland?