Darra Goldstein's Cheap Thrill: Farmer's Cheese Pancakes for Dinner
Darra Goldstein is the founding editor of Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies, as well as the author of 17 books on food and culture, including the recently published Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore. We asked Goldstein to tell us about her Cheap Thrill—the fast, affordable, and delicious meal she puts together when she’s too busy or tired to cook anything else. Her answer: pancakes for dinner.
Syrniki are irresistible! They're tender Russian pancakes that get most of their heft from tvorog, or farmer's cheese. If the farmer's cheese seems a little dry, I add a bit of heavy cream because I tend to like the batter slightly sticky. If you don't have access to farmer's cheese, you can make it—there's a recipe for homemade tvorog in Beyond the North Wind. You could also use small-curd cottage cheese instead, but in that case you'd want to drain it overnight, wrapped in cheesecloth set in a colander.
While we're on the topic of substitutions, if you don't have all-purpose flour, spelt flour would be the way to go. I've tried to make a gluten-free version using farina in place of the flour, which is a popular swap you might find on Russian cooking websites, but they didn't hold together for me.
Syrniki are perfect for what's considered an old-fashioned Russian Sunday night supper: to be served after the heavy midday meal which probably featured a roast. These light suppers often consist of dairy or pancakes or waffles or eggs of some sort. I always serve the cheese pancakes as is, with sour cream, and the meal feels complete. If you want something on the side, I usually offer fresh berries in spring and summer or sautéed apple slices in winter. Some really good jam, like raspberry or strawberry, can be great alongside, too.
I suppose my other advice for affordable meals is to turn things into soup: Not just the wilted greens from the fridge, but all kinds of leftovers, especially things like beans or grains that are already seasoned. I heat all the ingredients together and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes till the flavors blend and then purée them, or at least a portion of them, to make the soup feel more substantial. It’s always a surprise how it will turn out, but it’s almost always delicious, and it stretches a small amount of leftovers into a meal for several people. And if you want to serve some syrniki on the side, that sounds pretty good to me.
Farmer’s Cheese Pancakes (Syrniki/Сырники)
Originally Appeared on Epicurious
