Purōs varškēiai
Farmer Cheese Pancakes
Cheese pancakes are a beloved Lithuanian dish eaten for breakfast, but also for lunch or dinner. They can be accompanied with either sweet or savory sides, including berry sauce or jam. While they are easy to make, they do require rolling and cutting.
The main ingredient in these pancakes is a crumbly, fresh cheese most often translated as "farmers cheese." What constitutes farmers cheese can vary quite a bit in America, and some recipes directed towards Americans suggest the use of cottage cheese instead. After much research, however, I concluded that queso fresco, widely available at American supermarkets, is probably the closest and best alternative - for one, it's far less moist than cottage cheese. That's what I used and the recipe has been modified to use the standard 10 oz package of queso fresco available at stores. The recipe will produce enough pancakes for two hungry people, or four wanting just a snack.
You can add baking soda and lemon juice, as the original recipe called for, but I omitted them because I didn't want to bother. They might have risen slightly more with them, however, but I thought they were fine a they were. They were moist, tasty, though nothing out of this world. They worked very well with the berry sauce I made for them. I forgot to powder them with sugar, unfortunately.
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Lithuanian Farmer Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 10 oz farmer cheese or queso fresco
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- dash of salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Directions
Place cheese in a large bowl and crumble, you can use your hands or a potato masher. Mix in the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Gradually mix in the flour - add just enough flour to create a smooth paste. Kneed with your hands until well mixed.
Sprinkle a working surface with flour. Roll the dough to a 1/2" thickness. Cut out circles using a cookie cutter or cup. Transfer to a floured dish.
Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, add pancakes to the oil, lower heat to low and cook for about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate with paper towels.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on the pancakes and serve with fruit compote.
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Adapted from Rasa's recipe in YouTube and a recipe in Lithuanian in the USA.
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