By Chef Eunice – Cook/Prep: 30min / Chilling time: 40 min – Serves: 4–6
Ingredients
453g cottage (farmer’s cheese), preferably high fat content
1 large egg
1 + 1/2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or granulated sugar + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
1-2 tbsp semolina
2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour, for dredging
3-4 tbsp oil for frying
Optional
1/2 cup raisins or 1 tbsp lemon zest Sourcream or plain yoghurt, jam for serving
Method
In a medium bowl combine the cottage (farmer’s) cheese, egg, sour cream, sugar, and 1 tbsp of semolina. Mix well with a wooden spoon or with a hand mixer at low speed, until smooth (about 1 minute). It will be quite sticky. Do not use a blender as the mixture becomes too loose. Since the fat and water content of your cheese can greatly vary, start with one 1 table- spoon of semolina and add the second one if the mixture is still too sticky. I would not recommend adding more than 2 tbsp of semolina until you’ve chilled the batter (It will thicken up a bit.)
Stir in any additions like raisins or lemon zest if using.
Place the bowl with mixture in the refrigerator, for about 30 minutes. It will
thicken up, but it can still be a bit sticky to touch. If the batter is still too loose, you can add another tablespoon of semolina, but it should be okay to shape the pancakes.
Take some batter at a time (about 1/4 cup) and shape into thick pancakes. I prefer smaller syrniki, but you can use more batter per one. If the batter is sticky, you can lightly dust your hands with flour. Depending on the size, you should get around 10 to 16 pancakes.
Add the flour into a small plate. Dredge the pancake with flour on both sides. Shake off the extra flour. Transfer them onto a plate or board and freeze for 10 minutes. Freezing is optional, but it helps keep their shape.
In the meantime, preheat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat (you might need to adjust to slightly lower heat later.)
Gently arrange the pancakes into the pan using a spatula. Cook on me- dium-low heat for about 4-5 minutes, or until each side is golden brown. While frying, avoid moving or flipping them too early as you can damage the sear.
Gently flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the fried pancakes onto a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Fry the remaining pancakes adding more oil if necessary.
Serve them warm right away or keep refrigerated for up to 3 days (simply reheat in a microwave). Enjoy dusted with icing sugar, with sour cream and/ or jam!
