Russians love their dairy products. When I travelled there, breakfast tables were laden with fresh sour cream (smetana / cметана), kefir, fresh butter and soft curd cheese (tvorog / tворог). Syrniki are fried pancakes made of curd cheese simply bound together by flour and eggs. They are only slightly sweet so you can enjoy the unadulterated fresh cheese taste. Always served with sour cream and often with fruit or fruit preserves, they are popular for breakfast but good at any time. I served mine with sour cream and apricots.
Mix 450g (1lb) of cheese (quark or farmers cheese) with 2 eggs, ½ a cup of flour, ¼ of a cup of sugar and ½ a teaspoon of salt. If you prefer firmer patties you can add up to 1 cup of flour. A pastry cutter is excellent for mixing but a fork will also work. Prepare a tray or platter with some floured baking parchment and have a bowl with some flour ready as well. Scoop ½ a cup at a time and coat with the flour. They will be very soft so be gentle. Place the floured patties on the prepared tray. Repeat until you’ve used all the mixture then refrigerate until ready to cook. Heat 3 – 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat in a frypan, preferably non-stick, and transfer the patties carefully with a spatula. Fry for 4 – 5 minutes on each side until golden and drain on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
michelle picker cooks 