Buckweat Porridge with Mushrooms

Description

This is a traditional dish during Lent in Russia. Fresh or dried porcini mushrooms are usually used in preparing this dish. The porridge is being cooked separately with or without addition of butter. 

Ingredients

For 2 servings
300 g fresh mushrooms, sort - to taste (chanterelles, porcini, etc.)
150 g buckwheat
1 medium onion
25-30 g butter
Vegetable oil

Instructions

Cook the porridge, following the instructions on the package. Add the butter. Cut the mushrooms. Finely slice the onion. In a frying pan preheat some vegetable oil. Fry the onions until golden brown. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender. Add salt at the end of frying. To serve, put the porridge on a dish and arrange the mushrooms on the top. Sprinkle with finely cut herbs (parsley, dill) to taste.

Tip: If you prefer this dish lenten, simply mix the cooked porridge with the fried mushrooms.

Meat Jelly (Kholodets)

Description

Kholodets is a meat jelly, made of chopped boiled pork and (or) veal with spices and garlic. The meat is boiled with bones for a long period of time. Gelatine is not added, because the bones are gelatinous enough on its own. 

Ingredients

1 pork shank (about 1 kg)
0,5 kg veal
2 bay leafs
6 black peppercorns
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large onion

Instructions

Put the meat, onion, pepper and bay leafs into a saucepan. Pour cold water into the saucepan until water level will be approximately 8-10 cm above the meat level. Bring to a boil and cook 5-6 hours. Add salt and garlic at the end of cooking. Let cool, remove the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Filter the broth through sieve. Put the meat into forms and pour with the broth. Serve with horseradish or mustard.

Potato Cakes with Mushroom Sauce

Description

Potato cakes with creamy mushroom sauce. Originally the sauce is being made from these mushrooms, but you can use any mushrooms you have.

 Ingredients

For 8 potato cakes
6-8 potatoes
125 ml milk
50 g butter
1 egg
Flour
1 small onion
Mushrooms (e.g. champignons) 700 gr., chopped
200 g sour cream
Vegetable oil
Salt
Ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Potato cakes: Peel the potatoes and boil until ready. Mash, adding the milk and butter. Beat the egg and add to the mashed potatoes. Add 5 tablespoons of flour and mix thoroughly. In a frying pan preheat the oil. Form 8 potato cakes, roll them in the flour and fry in the frying pan until golden brown, 2-4 minutes on each side.
Sauce: Chop the onion. In a frying pan preheat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and fry the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fry over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add the sour cream and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add gradually a teaspoon of flour, mix well and simmer for 2 minutes until you will have a nice sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, place the potato cakes onto a serving plate and spoon over the mushroom sauce.

Roast Rabbit

Description

Roast Rabbit is one of the popular dishes in Russia.
Serve it with mashed potato, roasted vegetables or buckwheat kasha.

Ingredients

1 rabbit
2 large onions
Vegetable oil
Whole black pepper (quantity to taste)

Instructions

Divide the rabbit into a parts. In a frying pan preheat the oil. Fry the meat until golden brown. Chop the onions into rings and fry them separately in some oil until golden brown. Put the meat into a baking dish, season with salt and pepper. Put the onions atop the meat and pour 1 glass of water. Bake at 180C for about 1 hour.

Russian Borscht

Description

Russian Borscht is a soup made of a meat broth and vegetables such as beetroot, cabbage and potato. It is usually served with sour cream and rye bread. 

Ingredients

3 l beef broth
300 g beet
300 g cabbage
2 medium carrots
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 garlic cloves
Dried clove, 2 buds
2-3 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt

Instructions

Peel the carrots, potatoes, beets and onions. Bring the broth to a boil, put the onion, bay leaf, pepper and cloves. Meanwhile, grate the carrots and beets, shred the cabbage, cut the potatoes into small cubes. Put the potatoes and carrots into the broth and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beets and cabbage and cook for 8-10 minutes. Crush the garlic with garlic press. Put the tomato paste, garlic and lemon juice into the soup and cook another 5-7 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with a spoonful of sour cream.

Russian Pancakes (Oladyi)

Description

Oladyi are small thick pancakes. They are usually served for breakfast or dessert in Russia. Sometimes fresh or dried fruits are added in the batter. Here is a basic recipe for oladyi.

Ingredients

500 g flour
500 ml milk
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
25 g fresh yeast
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Warm the milk and dissolve the yeast in it. Add the flour and mix. Let the mixture rise in a warm place. Then add the eggs, sugar, salt and oil. Mix and let rise again. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan. Pour in the batter with tablespoons, wetted in a cold water. Repeat until the batter is used up. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve with sugar, honey, jam or with sour cream mixed with sugar.

Russian Pirozhki

Description

Pirozhki are little pies with savoury or sweet fillings. They can be served with a soup, as an appetizer or just with a cup of tea or coffee. "Pirozhki" is a plural form. The singlular form is "pirozhok". There are many recipes of pirozhki. Here is one of them.

Ingredients

For 16-18 pies
280 g flour
100 g butter or margarine
125 ml milk (cold or warm)
2 tsp dry yeast
1,5 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt 

Instructions

Put the flour into a bowl. Add softened and cut into small pieces butter, mix thoroughly. Dissolve the yeast, salt and sugar in the milk and add to the flour and butter mixture. Form a dough. Roll the dough into a ball, place into container with lid and put into the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Roll out the dough until 3 mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a 8-10cm round pie cutter, cut out rounds of the dough. Place some filling mixture (see recipes below) into the middle of the each dough round. Fold the edges together to encase the filling. Put the pies onto a baking tray, covered with parchment paper. Brush each pie with lightly beaten egg white and bake for 15-17 minutes at 180C.

Variants of fillings:
1) Cut 3 skinned apples into small cubes. Sprinkle with sugar (2-3 tablespoons). Add vanila extract.
2) Any jam you like.
3) Finely chopped boiled eggs , green onions, 1-2 tbsp melted butter. Season with salt.
4) Chicken Liver Pâté. See the recipe here.
5) Chop cabbage and simmer in some butter. Add chopped boiled eggs.
6) Fry chopped mushrooms and sliced onion in olive oil.

Russian Salad

Description

Russian Salad or Salad Olivier is a very popular festive dish in Russia. It has a long history and a lot of variations. The full information can be found here. I present you a modern version. 

 Ingredients

For 2 servings
200 g Bologna
2-3 potatoes, boiled
1 carrot, boiled
1 small can green peas
6-8 small cornichons or gherkins
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 small onion
Mayonnaise
Salt 

Instructions

Cut the potatoes, carrots, eggs, cornichons and Bologna into small cubes. Finely chop the onion, pour over boiling water, then immediately pour over very cold water (to keep it crunchy). Drain well. Mix all the ingredients and the peas, season with salt, dress with mayonnaise. To serve, garnish with chopped green onion.

Russian Sauerkraut

Description

  Sauerkraut is very healthy and tasty side dish, rich in vitamin C. It can be also used in soups (such as Shchi) or pies. Serve it cold with sunflower oil. 

Ingredients

3 kg cabbage
2-3 carrots
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar 

Instructions

Shred the cabbage. Peel the carrots and grate on a coarse grater. Mix the cabbage and carrots. Sprinkle with the salt and sugar. Stir thoroughly, squeezing a little. The cabbage will release water. Put the mixture into a large saucepan and press. Cover the mixture with a plate, which is slightly smaller in diameter than the pan. Put something heavy onto the top of the plate (for instance, a 3l jar of water). Cover with a cotton towel. Keep at room temperature. Pierce the cabbage with a skewer to release gases. In a few days the cabbage will foam. When the foaming is over - the cabbage is ready (usually in 4-5 days). Store in a cool place.

Shchi

Description

Shchi is a traditional soup in Russia, made of cabbage or sauerkraut. Shchi became a staple food of Russia many centures ago. It is usually served with sour cream and rye bread.  

  Ingredients

2 l meat broth
500 g white cabbage.
1-2 carrots
2 medium potatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
2-4 black peppercorns
1 tpsp lemon juice

Instructions

Shred the cabbage. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Chop finely the onion. Bring the broth to a boil. Put the carrots and potatoes into the broth and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sredded cabbage and onion, cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, lemon juice, pepper and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with a spoonful of sour cream.

Tip: You can fry carrots and onions in a little olive oil until almost tender and put them into the soup for 5 minutes before the end of cooking. Onions can be skipped (for those who do not like cooked onions) or replaced with green onion.

Syrniki (Quark Pancakes)

Description

Syrniki are fried pancakes made of special quark called tvorog. They are usually served for breakfast or dessert with sour cream, honey or jam.

Ingredients

(For 6 pieces)
250 g tvorog
1 egg
2,5 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Mix the tvorog until smooth. Stir in the flour, egg, sugar and vanilla extract. Form six pancakes and roll each in flour. Preheat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry syrniki on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

Tip: Try to add raisins or chopped dried apricots in syrniki mixture.

Ukha

Description

Ukha is a rich fish broth with vegetables, roots, spices and fish chunks. Freshwater fish is usually used in the classic recipe. Served with fish pies.

 Ingredients

2 l boiling water
150 g sturgeon or cod
200 g trout
1 potato
1 carrot
100-150 g leeks, chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped roots of parsley and celery
Black pepper
1-2 bay leafs
Fresh herbs (parsley, dill), chopped
Lemon

Instructions

Peel the carrot and potato. Cut into small cubes and put into the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes. Cut the fish into chunks, add to the potato and carrot. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the leeks, roots, bay leafs and pepper; cook for 5 minutes. To serve, add a slice of lemon and the herbs.
 
Tip: You can add 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice for 1 minute before the end of cooking. 

Vinaigrette

Description

Russian Vinaigrette is a salad made of beetroots, carrots, potatoes, pickled cucumbers and sauerkraut. It is a very popular salad in autumn and winter time and also a great complement to Kholodets.

Ingredients

400 g beetroots
400 g carrots
300 g potatoes
200 g pickled cucumbers
200 g canned green peas
1 onion
Sunflower oil
Salt
Green onion (for garnish)

Instructions

Bake in oven or boil the beetroots, carrots and potatoes until cooked. Let to cool. Then peel and cut into small cubes. Cut the cucumbers the same way. Finely chop the onion. Place in a sieve and pour over boiling water. Then immediately pour over cold water (to get rid of bitterness). Put all the ingredients into a bowl and sprinkle with the oil. Add salt to taste and mix. Garnish with finely chopped green onion.

Tip: You can also add 200 g sauerkraut (the recipe see here).