Farmers Cheese Pancakes – Syrniki

Remember how I made the delicious farmers cheese? Farmers cheese is an Eastern European version of ricotta cheese except it first curdles at room temperature to start off the fermentation process and then finished with the help of some heat. It really is best for your digestive system due to lactic acid bacteria which guards your healthy immune system.

We often make farmers cheese at home and today is the day I put it into good use. Right in the morning, I jumped out of bed all excited about my delicious breakfast – farmers cheese pancakes a.k.a syrniki!

Growing up, my mom would make syrniki for no occasion; it just seemed so effortless – throw farmers cheese in, this and that into the batter and with blink of an eye here they are – a stack of beautiful, soft in the middle and crispy on the edges, delicious farmers cheese pancakes. No one even thought it was rude to eat this many!

These days it’s easy to find farmers cheese in the store. Any Eastern European grocery store has some farmers cheese and even Costco has it at a pretty good price. But nothing can compare to freshly made farmers cheese at home. Try these farmers cheese pancakes and you’ll see what I mean!

Ingredients:

2 cups farmers cheese

2 eggs

3 tbsp sugar

1/3 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp semolina

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp sour cream

1/4 cup raisins

pinch of salt

2 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp butter for frying

In a big mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the oil and butter and mix well.

Heat a non-stick skillet with oil and butter over medium heat and place a full tablespoon of farmers cheese pancakes batter on the skillet. Cook them on medium heat until they are golden on both sides.

Serve warm with sour cream, jam, fruit, condensed milk, honey or plain dusted with powdered sugar.