Cuisine Focus – Russian – Of Ladled Soups and Breads

Russian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the world. If compared with the others, it may not be that sophisticated or exotic but this cuisine simply stands out as one of the tastiest. The popularity is even encouraged by the fact that Russian cuisine is never complicated in terms of style or methods in cooking. It requires no particular skill just to become an expert neither that it takes very rare ingredients to completely cook a meal.

Mainly a northern country, Russia is one place with long-lasting winters. It is for this reason that Russians make it a point to choose their foods in accordance to what is necessary during such cold climate. That is why this cuisine normally calls for ingredients which are rich in fats and carbohydrates. It has also been said that Russian cuisine relies on several food items namely potato, bread, eggs, butter and meat.

Russian cuisine is famous for soups, breads and dishes making use of assorted meats. The people are described as lovers of pelmeni, a type of Siberian meat pie. It has also been said that a household usually comes up with its own valued recipe, be it pies, sauerkraut or pickles. Ingredients like mushrooms are prepared in many ways including frying, pickling, boiling or salting. There is also a variety of choices when it comes to mushroom- based dishes as people tend to use what is merely available and most abundant in a given place. Pastries and breads are a common item and are revered by Russians as a product of skill and expertise. Heard of the saying, “No dinner without bread,” it only goes to show the kind of importance the Russians have for breads and pastries as part of their meals.

Russia has a long list of dishes from appetizers, soups, meat and fish dishes, pastry and beverage. For one, Russian appetizers are simply stimulating and make use of different seasonings and condiments. Soups are often prepared with either fresh or pickled vegetables. Meat dishes, on the other hand, are very special components of this cuisine and are served with vegetables, cereals and noodles. Fish dishes have become a favorite as Russia is teeming with seas, rivers and lakes. Beverages typically comprise of vodka and Kvass, a fermented beverage made from stale dark, sourdough rye bread. It’s brown and bubbly, with a beer-like taste, but its alcohol content is so low that it’s considered non-alcoholic.

Ingredients Utilized in Russian Cuisine

Meat:

Beef, Pork, Mutton, Poultry, Game and wild meats

Seafood:

Salmon, Sturgeon, Cod, Herring and other types of fresh-water and salt-water fish

Vegetables:

Mushrooms, Cabbage, Beets, Cucumbers, Olives, Potatoes, Turnip, Radish

Grains:

Oats, Barley, Wheat, Millet, Rye

Condiments:

Mayonnaise, tomato sauce, vinegar

Seasonings and Spices:

Onions, Dill, Parsley, Celery, Pepper, Garlic, Cinnamon, Cardamom

Dairy:

Eggs, Milk, Butter

Other ingredients used:

Berries, Honey

The people also follow certain rules with Russia being an Orthodox country. There are days wherein dairy products are spared from being used. There are also times wherein less or none consumption of meat is being practiced. And such often results into dependence on vegetables and fish.

Russia is a beautiful country with an original, varied cuisine while the Russians are known as traditionally-loving, hard working people. Food in connection with culture is always unique as it will always be a reflection of nature and resource. On the other hand, whatever the Russians have in their plates will always make us think of home- a place where love is poured and served; a home where ladled soups and breads complement each other even more.

Authentic Russian Recipes

Pelmeni
(Poached Pasties
with Meat Filling)

Recipe Source: russianlegacy.com

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 glasses (3 1/4 cups) flour,

1 egg,
5 tbsps cold water,

1 tsp butter, salt

For the filling:

0.5 kg (1 1/4 lb) meat (pork and beef in equal proportion),

2 or 3 onions,

1 tsp salt,

2 or 3 tbsps water,

black pepper,

nutmeg to taste

Method:

Put the beef and pork through the food chopper after trimming off sinews. Add onions (also put through the mincer), salt, spices and cold water. Sir thoroughly and set aside. Form a hill of sifted flour on the board. Break an egg into a dump/pot made in the middle. Add a little

water, salt and then mix the flour with liquid carefully – at first with a knife and then with hands – and thoroughly knead the dough. It should be resilient. Add to the dough 1 teaspoon of butter, knead once again and cover for 5 to 10 minutes by a hot bowl or saucepan. Then roll out the dough into a thin cake, less than 2 mm thick. Cut the dough leaf into rounds with a thin glass or a mould, touch the edge of the round with a wet finger dipped in ice-cold water to make the edges paste up better. Put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round, fold it over and thoroughly pinch to make a crescent shape. Boil the prepared pelmeni either in a usual meat and bone stock or in salted water. Season the stock or water with onions, bay leaf and paper and add salt.

Russian Blini

Recipe Source: traditional-russian-food.com

Blini is a Russian traditional dish. They are baked in a great quantity at Shrove (carnival) – last week before Lent. Blini making was a real sacred mystery. People told fortunes on the dough, kept their recipes of Blini in secret. The first Blini were put on the window-sills for poor people and pilgrims. The foreigners were very surprised at how many Blini Russians could eat. At Shrove mother-in-law must bake a lot Blini for her son-in-law.

The most popular Blini were made from buckwheat flour. Good Blini must be very very thin. The thinner Blini are the perfect your skill is.

Ingredients:

All-purpose Flour – 6 (big salad) spoons
Milk – 2 and half glass
Eggs – 3 big
Salt – one pinch or your taste
Sugar – 4 teaspoons
Buttermilk – half a glass or slightly more for your taste
Kefir – for Russian buttermilk – small family secret, will give you a special test for Blini, especially if you will use a fruit buttermilk like peach or strawberry. You can add it to the regular buttermilk.

Method:

Step#1
In a medium size bowl poor 6 fool spoons of All-purpose flour.

Step#2
Add 2.5 cup of milk.

Step# 3
Add 3 eggs.

Step# 4
Beat well to mix all ingredients.

Step#5
Add 3-4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on your taste).

Step#6
Add a pinch of salt (depends on your taste).

Step#7
Add 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil.

Step#8
And finally ½ cup of buttermilk (remember, if you like sweeter and fruity taste, add fruit buttermilk).

Step# 9
Like a Step#4 mix the ingredients well – until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Remember, the better you mix the ingredients, the better blini will be. Just make sure there are no flour lumps in your mixture.

TIP: I use a back of a ladle to mash all the lumps. Trust me they will disappear very fast.

If the mass is too thick or sticky you need more milk. You can also add a lit bit more buttermilk. Milk – you can add as much as you feel you need to get very smoothie mass and thin blini.

Step# 10
Preheat a 10”or 12” fry pan to medium-high heat.
Add 6-8 drops of vegetable or canola oil to the fry pan.
Rub it all around so your blintsi will not stick to the pan.
!!!Make sure you add oil before cooking each blini!!!

Step#11

Take a ladle or a regular cup. Dip it into your mixture.
For one thin and big blini you need 2/3 of a cup, or almost fool ladle of mixture.

Poor the mass onto fry pan. It will help, if you poor it on one side of a pan.
Poor it very quickly. Don’t forget your pan is very hot.

Step#12
Spread the mass very quickly over fry pan by moving pan in circular motion.
Do not be afraid, even if you can not do it well the first time, you will get it second time. There is a famous Russian saying: “First blini always the ugly one”.
Your next one will be better looking and rounder. And even if they are all ugly, they still will taste great!!!

Step# 13
As soon as your mass is on the frying pan adjust your burner to a medium heat.
Very high temperature will burn it. We needed a high heat just to warm up the pan.
Cook it on one side until it gets a nice light golden brownish color or edges start to brown and lightly curl – usually takes 1 minute.

Step# 14
As soon as one side become ready flip it over. You will ask HOW?
Slide a spatula carefully under the Blini and flip it over with one movement.
Trust me it’s easier then it’s sounds.

Step# 15
Cook the other side until it is slightly golden. Usually about 40seconds.
Don’t go far! Blini will burn as soon as you turn your back. Every 10 seconds, take one edge of the blini with a spatula and raise it to see if it’s a nice color. If it’s getting dark you over cooked it and it will taste very dry.

Step#16
Use a big flat plate for your cooked blini; stack Blini one on top of each other.
To keep them warm. You can also use a non-salted butter to rub it in each cooked blini.
It will keep them moist and tasty.

Step#17
Serve Blini with a jam or syrups of your choice. Personally, I prefer sour cream or caviar, my wife and daughters like fruit jams and preserves on them. Obviously, they would not be  Traditional Russian  blini  if they not surrounded by a red caviar.

Enjoy and Bon Appetite!

Congratulations, Today you learn how cook the one of the very traditional Russian food. Now you can taste the peace of Russian tradition or simply surprise your Russian friends.

Image Credit: thekneadforbread.com

russianlegacy.com

fivestarfoodie.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

Currently 5 comments - But what do you think?

Related Posts

• Cuisine Focus – Scandinavian – A Humble Triad
• Cuisine Focus – Persian – Distinction Through Food
• Cuisine Focus – Pakistani – A Different Kind of Fusion
• Cuisine Focus – Norwegian – Basic Foods and Natural Resource
• Cuisine Focus – Organic – A Healthy Substitute

• 
• Share
• Tweet

• Digg it
• Delicious it
• Stumble it
• Sphinn it

Sign up here to ensure that you receive our regular ezine, blog updates and the entire chefs package for FREE! Learn more

Free Instant Access �