Buckwheat And Cottage Cheese Casserole - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup rye flakes or 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2 3/4 - 3 cups water
1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill or 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for preparing the pan
1 1/2 cups low fat cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sugar (optional) or 2 tablespoons honey, beaten with the eggs (optional)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika

Preparation

Set a rack in the center and preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F.
Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Coat the bottom and halfway up the sides with the rye flakes or oatmeal. Set aside.
In a heavy 2-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, combine 2 3/4 cups of water with the buckwheat, dill, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in butter.
Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the buckwheat is tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in another 1/4 cup of water if the mixture gets dry before the buckwheat is tender.
Transfer the cooked buckwheat to a medium bowl.
Stir in the cottage cheese, followed by the eggs and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
With a rubber spatula, spread the sour cream in a layer on top.
Dust with paprika.
Bake until the edges are firm and the center is set, 45 to 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Run a knife along the edges and cut into 8 portions.
Use a spatula to remove the pieces from the pan.