A little something from the Russian kitchen - fried thick curd cheese patties that are best enjoyed while still hot with a generous dollop of soured cream or a jam of your choice. You'll find curd cheese or quark cheese (tvorog, read more here) in Russian or Polish or German shops. Remember, the higher the fat content, the tastier the end result - or try farmer's cheese instead. Ricotta is too smooth and lean to work, in my opinion.
We love them for breakfast, but syrniki also make an excellent mid-day or mid-afternoon snack.
Syrniki
(Sõrnikud)
Serves 4
500 g curd cheese
2 egg yolks (or 1 egg, if you wish)
60 g plain flour (100 ml), or slightly more, if necessary
a generous pinch of salt
1 Tbsp sugar (for sweet syrniki)
flour for breading
oil for frying
Combine curd cheese, egg yolks, salt and sugar, if using.
Sprinkle some flour on the work surface and on your hands. Form small patties from the curd cheese mixture (add a spoonful or two of flour, if the mixture is too loose), flatten them slightly. The curd cheese patties should be about 1 cm thick.
(You could put them into the fridge for about and hour - it helps them to stay in shape).
Heat some oil on a frying pan over moderate heat. Fry the syrniki on both sides for 3-5 minutes, until they're golden brown.
Serve when still warm.
11 comments:
I believe, I've eaten these before. Just can't remember where and when... Great picture!
I have never seen these before...simple and delicious looking!
I use ricotta. Works well enough if you don't have quark cheese option. It's fiddly making them anyways. Must say that kids prefer ricotta version more, maybe because the texture is smoother.
oh, Pille, what a sweet coninsidence - look at the last post on my blog - it's about making home-made tvorog!
I too adore and miss syrniki, so have made my own cottage cheese as here in London you cannot find the right stuff! my next step is to make actual syrniki with it...let me know what you think!
Yum! Now I've never had them before, but the recipe looks and sounds simple (and delicious) enough to try it out! Great photo!
Wow - never seen anything like this. Got to try it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Robyn
Love your blog!!
I'm Lithuanian and we have something very similar except we make small "dumplings" and boil them. We eat them with butter and sour cream. Leftovers we fry in butter until crisp. Right after I read this post, my sister called from a Russian deli and asked if I wanted anything... Yea! Cheese to make these!!
I love them too. Since after the Polish store closed and none of the other stores carry farmers cheese, I use ricotta too. But nothing beats Estonian kohupiim :).
Loen su postitust alles nüüd, kuid ostsin just umbes samal päeval poest paki magusat kohupiima, sest jube sõrnikuisu oli. Lõppes asi siiski koogivormi tehtud kohupiimamuffiniga :) (tuletab mulle meelde seda karride kooskokkamise välja kuulutamist, kui mul juba mitu päeva karri-isu oli olnud)...
We have just returned from our first trip to Russia. Your recipe is so simple and the result was wonderfully nostalgic. Thank you
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