Syrnyky (Ukrainian pancakes)

These Ukrainian or Eastern European pancakes

INGREDIENTS

For the pancakes:
8 oz (225g) farmer’s cheese (tvorog) (see NOTES)
1/4 cup (35g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To coat the pancakes:
2 tablespoons all purpose flour

For cooking:
2 tablespoons oil (approximately), or around 1-1/2 tablespoons, plus a little butter

DIRECTIONS

Place the cheese, flour, sugar, egg and vanilla for the pancake mixture in a bowl and mix everything together so that the ingredients are well combined, but not overmixed.

Place the additional flour for coating in a small flat bowl or plate. Using either a cookie scoop or a dessert spoon, take a spoonful of the pancake mixture and then lightly round it off in your hands to form a round patty. The dough/batter will be quite soft, so be careful. After one or two you’ll get the hang of it. They are usually on the thick side compared to regular pancakes.

Place the pancake into the flour for coating to coat underneath, then carefully turn it over to coat the other side then gently shake off any excess. Set aside on a plate and repeat, forming and dredging in flour with the rest of the mixture. You should get 7-10 pancakes, depending on how big you make them.

As you are working on forming the pancakes, warm a small skillet/frying pan over a medium heat (non-stick or cast iron is best). Add the oil (and butter, if using) and let it warm.

Once the oil is hot, add a few of the pancakes to the skillet. If you’re using an 8in (20cm) skillet you probably want to only cook only 3-4 at a time so that you don’t overcrowd the pan.

Cook the pancakes for around 3 – 4 minutes until the underside is gently brown then turn and cook another 2 – 3 minutes on the second side. Remove from the skillet and drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Cook the rest of the pancakes.

Serve warm with a berry compote, jam, and (optional though popular) sour cream/creme fraiche (smetana).

NOTES

Farmer cheese is a somewhat rustic cheese, with a slightly ‘grainy’ texture, like ricotta. The batter/dough for syrnyky can be tricky to handle – it’s soft, and tends not to hold it’s shape. If your farmer cheese appears to be wet, put it in a thin kitchen towel or some cheese cloth and wring some water out of it before incorporating.