Turos Csusza

This is an interesting dish that is suppose to be Hungary's national dish. Europe's cottage cheese and sour cream are slightly different than America's and I changed the recipe a little so it's now a Hoosier/Hungary dish (or a Hungry Hoosier dish, if you prefer). It was surprisingly, can't-get-enough good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package short egg noodles
3 - 4 heaping teaspoons Real Bacon Bits (or cook 3 - 4 strips smoky bacon, drain)
2 cups sour cream
1 (12 ounce) container dry cottage cheese
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Cook noodles according to package directions until al dente, 8 – 10 minutes; drain well.


• Place the drained noodles in a large baking dish. Stir the sour cream and bacon into the noodles.


• Spoon the cottage cheese evenly over the top; season with salt if you insist.


• Bake in preheated oven until the cottage cheese softens, about 15 minutes.

I added bread crumbs to the top of mine before baking. The recipe I used said to cook the bacon & set it aside, but it never actually used the bacon. If you use bacon, it should have a smoky flavor to be more authentic.

You can omit the bacon if you didn't have any, though the taste might be somewhat bland. I read that if you omit the bacon, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Serves 8 as a side dish.