My Father's Saturday Morning Sausage Pancakes

An almost forgotten breakfast from my Soviet childhood. Somewhere between a pancake, a cutlet and a very good memory.

When I was a child, my father occasionally made a special breakfast on Saturdays. Maybe once a month, sometimes more often.

It wasn't anything sophisticated. Just thick slices of boiled sausage, garlic and a simple batter.

But I still remember the taste.

In the Soviet Union, we used Doktorskaya, a finely textured cooked sausage without visible chunks of fat. If you're trying to recreate it today, a good-quality bologna or similar cooked sausage works perfectly well.

I rarely make this dish myself, but whenever I do, it brings back those Saturday mornings.

How to make it

The recipe is wonderfully simple.

Cut the sausage into thick rounds, approximately 1–1.5 cm.

Using the tip of a knife, make three or four small pockets in each slice. Insert thin slivers of fresh garlic into them.

Add a little black or white pepper if you like.

Lightly coat each slice in flour.

Now prepare a simple batter with an egg, a splash of milk, some flour, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth and thick enough to coat the sausage.

Dip the slices into the batter and fry them in a preheated pan.

I prefer butter, although a mixture of butter and vegetable oil works well too.

Cook on both sides until the batter is golden, cooked through and slightly crispy.

That's it.

The result is something halfway between a pancake and a little sausage cutlet, with a soft centre and occasional bursts of garlic.

Nothing particularly healthy or fashionable. Just delicious.

Serve it with strong black tea, perhaps with a little sugar, or a proper cup of black coffee.

Preferably on a sunny Saturday morning.

I suppose I could improve the recipe, experiment with different batters or make a more sophisticated version.

But I don't really want to.

Some recipes are worth keeping exactly as you remember them.