Recent Posts: Page 37 of 59
Kvass (Russian Fermented Rye Bread Drink)
December 3rd, 2011 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
Kvass (kvas, quass) is probably a bit of unusual drink to this part of the globe.
Indeed, if you read ingredients list: dried rye bread, water, sugar and yeast – it probably will not strike you as something delicious. However this is one of soft drinks which is, according to Wikipedia, popular in Eastern Europe countries, especially Russia, since ancient times.
It is not hard to prepare kvass at home: you just need 2 big cooking pots, a funnel, cheese cloth, rye bread (which can be a bit of challenge to find) and about 3 days. Any type of rye bread will work.
I recently discovered good borodinsky bread in nearby european store, we liked it a lot and now buying pretty often. I dice the bread leftovers and heels and dry them for 10-15 mins in oven; that way I always have dried rye bread for the next patch of kvass ready to go when I need it (and I also don’t need to throw bread out).
Prepared kvass can be stored bottled in fridge; serve it as soft drink or use to prepare okroshka soup.
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
November 26th, 2011 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
My mom usually cooked big zucchini like this: stiffing it with ground beef and rice mince.
However I wasn’t able to find an “adult” zucchini in any shop here in US to cook it. It seems that they don’t survive long enough to grow big here (maybe green piece should look into that, I don’t know).
Anyway, I believe spaghetti squash is a good substitute for this recipe: it serves the purpose by being squash and providing a cavity to cook stuffing, and it also brings nice unique texture to the dish with its “spaghettiness”.
The taste here is similar to cabbage rolls (as if they were made of squash 🙂 ), however the amount of work you need to put into this one is considerably smaller.
Crab Sticks Salad with Pickled Mushrooms and Apple
November 19th, 2011 in Salads by Julia Volhina
I didn’t post salad recipes for a while now, so wanted to come up with something special this time.
I chose salad made of surimi crab sticks mixed with tender pickled mushrooms, grated apple, fresh dill and parsley and dressed with ground black pepper and a bit of mayo.
This mix may seem unusual (especially here in US), however it is very popular in post-USSR countries. You can find it under name “Salad Anshlag” in menus.
Some people use boiled mushrooms for this recipe, however I prefer mushrooms pickled following this recipe: they are very easy to do and are less plain than just boiled; but this is a matter of preference.
Homemade Pickled Mushrooms
November 12th, 2011 in Appetizers & Snacks by Julia Volhina
Taste of homemade pickled mushrooms can’t be beaten by any brand from the store. If you pickle mushrooms yourself you can control spiciness and acidity to make sure they taste exactly as you want them to.
Champignon mushrooms are most commonly available that is why I used them, but this marinate will work for edible wild mushrooms: boletuses, honey mushrooms and other edible mushrooms as well. However for wild mushrooms you will need to increase boiling time and maybe change water trough boiling at least once.
Mushrooms pickled this way can be stored in the fridge for long time, if you want to preserve them outside of the fridge – use sealing jars and follow the instructions for proper sealing; however I don’t see a reason to do so: champignons are commonly available in every store and you can pickle them as much as you want without actually sealing into jars.
Duck Meat Stewed with Apples
November 5th, 2011 in Duck, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
Duck meat does go great with apples; usually stuffing a whole duck with apples and then roasting it in the oven is a way to go. But first – it can take quite some time, and then – it bears hassle of dealing with bones when serving and eating.
All of that is gone if boneless duck breasts are sliced and stewed with apples in a deep skillet like in this recipe. It also makes it easier to serve exact amount of meat for each portion.
Any apples will do good for this recipe, however sour ones are better.
Russian Fried Pies with Meat and Rice Stuffing
October 29th, 2011 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
Fried pies (piroshki/pyrizhky), resembling individual size fried buns of yeast dough with stuffing, are very popular in all countries of ex-USSR. There are many stuffing variations for these: fruity and sweet or savory.
This is recipe for piroshki with boiled meat and rice stuffing – meat left over after preparing broth or soup is usually used to prepare these. And later fried pies can be served together with that soup or broth.
Piroshki are good choice if you need to take food to-go: they don’t require refrigeration to keep them fresh (for 1-2 days).
How to Make Unsweetened Yeast Dough
October 22nd, 2011 in Tips, Advices & How-to by Julia Volhina
Yeast dough is commonly used for baked pies and fried pies/dumplings (pirozhki/pyrizhky).
Slavic cuisine features pies with various sweet and savory stuffing, and they all are usually prepared with dough as simple as this one.
Dough for small pies doesn’t usually require time for rising, you can start assembling them as soon as dough is kneaded: when you are finished with last one – first is ready to to fry/bake.
For whole piece pies you may need to set dough aside for 20-30 mins before cooking to rise.