Syrniki Cottage Cheese Pancakes Recipe from Eastern Europe - CulturallyOurs (2024)

Cottage cheese pancakes also known as Syrniki is something that every Slavic woman not only knows how to make but also has her own delicious recipe that she makes for the whole family on Sundays.

It is so fascinating to learn about all the different breakfast ideas from around the world. Our friend Maria Dokshina is sharing this delicious cottage cheese pancake recipe – both a dairy version and a vegan version – perfect for when toast and cereal just gets too boring!From Maria,

These are primarily soft pancakes made by pan-frying the mixture of wheat flour, eggs and quark (cottage cheese) with some sweetener and salt. Quark is a type of fresh dairy product made by warming soured milk until the curdling process occurs, and then straining it. In Russia, the quark is called “tvorog”, however, the word “syr” that was once referred for all dairy products is now used as a base part of the syrniki-name. If you say “syr” in Russian market these days, for instance, you will get a basic yellow cheese. This is nothing more than just a typical confusing linguistic nuance that comes from using old-fashioned words without exactly referring to its original meaning. Quark (cottage cheese/”tvorog”) is extremely popular in Russia and you can easily find a few women at the dairy products market on Sunday morning standing in front of the 30+ different batches of this product discussing with each other what type is good for which recipe, their fat and water contents, the sweet versions with raisins, dried apricots and dried plums that are good for the cakes, pancakes, dumplings and so on for 20-30 minutes before they will actually buy anything.

The birthplace of syrniki is a mystery, but it is obvious that they’ve got their peak of popularity during the existence of the USSR and spread throughout it – Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania – all known to have this meal served very often.Usually served for breakfast or brunch, syrniki can be found at almost every cafe in Eastern European countries. Children ask their mothers and grandmothers to make it on the days free from school even though it is not unusual that syrniki are also served in the school cafeteria throughout a week. Not only children, but adults love them too. Adults associate their happy childhood memories with syrniki and remember how their mothers cooked it during holidays. Some restaurants and cafes make syrniki from ricotta cheese and serve them with berry sauce instead of simple condensed milk usually served at home.

But where does all this craziness comes from? Let’s admit that syrniki are usually made from 9% fat cottage cheese, and served with a thick 35% fat cream-fraiche and sweet jam, so no wonder that they are so popular – eating them in the morning feels like having a piece of cheesecake for breakfast.

I am sharing 3Syrnikirecipestoday.

1. The first is for original syrniki made from “tvorog” (cottage cheese)
2. The second is for the ricotta-version that I used to serve at the cafe in Saint-Petersburg, where I worked as a chef for a few years
3. The third is a completely vegan version of syringe

The ricotta version is the softest and moist, and actually feels like you are eating a dessert rather than a breakfast. While the other two are much drier, even though the consistency of the cottage-cheese syrniki depends on the fat content of that cheese, the last version is made from tofu and obviously, the fat is really low in it.

Syrniki cottage cheesepancakes recipe

Ingredients:

• 400g of cottage cheese/ricotta/tofu
• 1 egg(for the cottage cheese and ricotta version) /1 Tbsp of flax seeds blended with 50ml of water (for the vegan version)
• 1 Tbsp of powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp of wheat flour
• A good pinch of salt
• Butter/oil for frying
• A little bowl filled with wheat flour

For the berry sauce:

• 200g of frozen mixed berries (defrosted)
• 50g of butter/vegan butter

Extra ingredients:

• Cream-fraiche/ soy whipped cream

Method:

• Take a cheesecloth or a nut-milk bag, put cottage cheese/ricotta/tofu inside and squeeze all the extra liquid it holds (about 50-70ml), get rid of it.
• In a medium bowl combine together dried cottage cheese/ricotta/tofu with sugar, wheat flour, and egg/flax seed egg. Mix well until thick fluffy paste is achieved.
• Bring a pan to medium heat, add your fat of choice to the pan and give it a minute to heat up. Using two tablespoons form a ball with the size of a walnut and put it into the bowl filled with wheat flour.
• Using your hands coat the ball with flour, place it between your palms and by rolling it gently create an even ball, then flatten it and put into the hot oil on the pan.
• Cook about 5 patties at a time for 2-3minutes on each side, check constantly at least at the beginning, so that you won’t burn it. Check by touch – the center should be as tight as the edges.
• While you keep frying syrniki, prepare the berry sauce. Put the berries in a medium pot and bring to a slight boiling, be careful with hot splashes. When all the extra moisture has evaporated, strain the mixture through the sieve into a bowl to get rid of all seeds.
• Add cubed butter/vegan butter into the hot berry puree and stir until melted.
• Serve syrniki with berry sauce, cream-fraiche/soy whipped cream and of course make your guests some black tea with it.

{Words and images by Maria Dokshina; Website: Planty_; Instagram: @planty_ }

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