Cottage cheese pancakes (Syrniki)

1. Mash the cottage cheese thoroughly with a fork or press it through a sieve; if it's very wet, squeeze it a little in a tea towel first – dry, crumbly curd cheese is ideal.

2. Add the egg, sugar, salt and the seeds scraped from the vanilla pod, then 50 g of the flour, and mix into a light, soft mixture.

3. Sprinkle the remaining flour on a plate. With floured hands shape 8-10 balls, roll them in the flour and flatten into round cakes 1.5 cm thick; straighten the sides with a knife.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the cakes for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown; the heat shouldn't be too high, so the middle warms through too.

5. Drain on kitchen paper.

6. Serve warm with sour cream (or jam or honey).

Tip: Syrniki are the classic weekend breakfast of Russian and Ukrainian families; the less flour you add, the creamier and softer they are – the secret is dry curd cheese.