The word chremslach is applied to any number of very different, usually fried, matzo meal pancakes. There are also recipes called chremsle, vvemzle, or chremslach that are croquettes with almonds and raisins. These cottage cheese pancakes are wonderful for a midweek Passover dairy breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I like them topped with sour cream, but if you have a sweet tooth, try applesauce, marmalade, strawberry jam, or other preserves, or a sprinkling of sugar. Or top them with sour cream and strawberries macerated with some sugar so they exude their juices and form a sauce.–Arthur Schwartz
What is matzoh?
Matzo (or matzoh or matzah or matza) is an unleavened flatbread that originated in Jewish cuisine. Made by mixing flour and water, rolling it thin, and baking it in an extremely hot oven, matzo is an integral part of the Passover festival. It can be soft and pliable or cracker-like and snappily crisp. It’s also ground down to various densities and used much like bread crumbs.
Cottage Cheese Chremslach
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup 4-percent cottage cheese
- 3/4 cup milk, (whole or low-fat)
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, (optional)
- 1 cup matzo meal
- Grapeseed or other acceptable Passover oil, (or oil and 2 tablespoons butter for flavor), for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, beat together the eggs, cottage cheese, milk, salt, and sugar with a fork. Stir in the matzo meal. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Pour enough oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet to cover the bottom by a scant 1/8 inch and place over medium heat. When the oil is hot, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter in the skillet. You want it to form a pancake about 4 inches in diameter. If it's too thick to spread this much, add a little more milk to get it to the proper spreading consistency. The pancake should sizzle immediately. Fry until the first side is golden brown, 60 to 90 seconds. Flip the pancake and cook the second side, which should take only about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the pancakes to paper towels or a brown paper bag to soak up the excess oil and serve while still very hot.
Notes
Fluffy Cottage Cheese Chremslach
For a puffier pancake, separate the eggs, beat the yolks with the milk, and then beat the whites until they form peaks and gently fold them into the batter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I’d never heard of cottage cheese chremslach before, but was intrigued by the added protein boost that the cottage cheese in the recipe would give. My kids love breakfast for dinner, so I thought this could pass as their more familiar pancakes one evening.
They’re much denser than our old standby recipe, but the texture is great. The kids loved them and the parents did too! Keep the finished pancakes warm in a low temp oven while you’re making the rest.
These were a surprisingly light, delicious alternative to your usual pancake. To make these gluten-free I made my own matzo meal by grinding GF matzo in the food processor until coarse and then adding it to the mix. I only had 2% cottage cheese on hand and 2% milk, but the pancakes still had a rich, slightly cheesy flavor that worked really well served with a little maple syrup.
I included sugar in this batch and did end up adding a couple of tablespoons extra milk to help the cottage cheese chremslach spread. One caution is that these tend to stick in the pan, so I recommend using a non-stick pan or griddle rather than a regular pan. They’re extremely delicate and break easily so a non-stick provides less resistance. I did need to add a little oil between batches even in the non-stick to keep the cakes from adhering.
I needed to give each cake a little extra time on both sides to brown and crisp (about 2 – 3 minutes on the first side, plus an additional 1 – 2 on the second). These were great with maple syrup, but I can also imagine them with fruit or served with something like yogurt or sour cream for a savory flavor.
Do you think this would work with ricotta cheese if we don’t have cottage cheese on hand?
Hi Rebecca, we didn’t test it with ricotta but it should be okay. You may need to add more milk to get to the desired consistency. Let us know!
I had some cottage cheese with chives to use up, so having found your recipe decided to make savoury chremslach. I also used wholemeal flour and added extra grated cheddar cheese. (Of course, omitted the sugar!) They were great and went down really well with the family ?
I did take a photo but having trouble sending it along !
Magnificent, Del! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know! Feel free to send the photo to david@leitesculinaria.com.
Zanne, I have not heard of GF matzo meal. Yet. Someone might market it soon. You might try other grains, such as quinoa flakes, to see if they can approximate the final texture of the recipe.