RUSSIAN PANCAKES WITH A SIMPLE FRUIT SAUCE

They are called "oladushki" in Russian. I guess you can say that these are smaller brothers of traditional pancakes or griddlecakes.  In Russia they are usually eaten with jam, honey, sour cream, or farmer cheese ("tvorog") but you can try Nutella, powdered sugar, fruits, and even slices of cheese.  This time we enjoyed our pancakes with farmer cheese and a simple blackberry sauce - similar to the one I've made for my FRENCH TOAST back in October.

You will find myriads of recipes for Russian pancakes.  Here is a slightly adapted version of Nadya's recipe from A-KROL-COOKBOOK (her blog is in Russian but you can enjoy the beautiful photos) and a recipe for fast fruit sauce.
 

What you need

pancakes
1 1/2 cups yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1 egg
2-3 tbsp sugar (use less if your yogurt is sweet) 
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
splash of vanilla
1 cup flour
butter or oil for frying

simple fruit sauce
2 cups your favorite fruits
2-3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp butter or oil
3 tbsp rum or Cognac (optional)

 

What to do

pancakes

• In a bowl combine together yogurt and egg.  Add sugar, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and mix well.
• Add flour 1/4 cup at a time, stirring to avoid clumps.  Adjust the amount of flour, so that the final mix has the consistency of sour cream.
• You do not need a lot of oil/butter to fry the pancakes yet you want the bottom of the frying pan to be a bit greasy. Simply wipe the bottom of the pan with a paper towel dipped in oil/melted butter.  Fry pancakes on a medium heat.
• note: pancakes will get a bit thicker while cooking so do not scoop up too much dough - 1 heaped tablespoon should make a perfect-sized small Russian pancake

simple fruit sauce

• If using big fruits, like pears or peaches, cut them in 1/4 inch cubes.
• Heat oil in a small sauce pan, add fruits, cook stirring for 2 minutes.
• Add sugar and cook for 2-3 more minutes.  At this point your fruits should give some juice.
• Add alcohol and cook for another 2 minutes.
• note: for a creamy version of the sauce add a couple of tablespoons of cooking cream and cook for another 2 minutes. 

 

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A year ago: K IS FOR KRIS KRINGLE
Two years ago: VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA