Tag: dinner (Page 14 of 17)
Stewed Beef with Onions
March 27th, 2010 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
It felt like a time for some nice beef stew recipe, so here it goes: beef stewed with onions is a dish my mom was always cooking, when I was little. Well, maybe she didn’t put a wine, but besides of that – that is the dish I am used to from my childhood.
It is very easy to do, probably the easiest stew recipe I know, and doesn’t take much time to cook. Wine adds a nice hint to the taste, but it is completely optional: just replace it with a cup of water if you don’t have a cup of dry red wine.
This dish goes good with mashed potatoes or boiled buckwheat as a side dish.
Fried Chicken
March 13th, 2010 in Chicken, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
It is the easiest way to cook chicken: get meat pieces, rub them with salt and spices, and then fry. Nothing complex and yet still very tasty.
Whole chicken legs are the best for this recipe, you can even get into more extreme and fry whole halves of chicken or cornish hen (bigger pieces are more juicy, but you may need to increase cooking time for big portions of meat).
Drumsticks, thighs and even wings can be cooked the same way: but you may need to reduce cooking time and increase amount of spices – just keep proportion of spice the same: 1 part of cumin to 1 part of ground black pepper to 2 parts of ground coriander – and it will be fine.
Fried Potato with Mushrooms
February 27th, 2010 in Main Dishes, No-meat by Julia Volhina
Potatoes fried with porcini mushrooms is one of the most delicious lenten recipes. It is also very-very russian. I believe russians eat that kind of food for centuries 🙂
This main dish contains no meat, however mushrooms perfectly substitute meat in both – taste and nutrients – they contain vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre while are low on fat and easily absorbed carbohydrates.
All of that make potato fried with mushrooms and onions perfect main dish for Lent. Needles to say what any combination of potatoes with mushrooms can’t taste bad, so I really hope you will enjoy this dish just like I do.
Russian Sauerkraut Soup (Schi)
February 12th, 2010 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Sauerkraut soup, also called sour schi, is a traditional russian main first course dish for several hundreds year.
Original recipes for schi (there are more that one: sour schi, grey schi, green schi) usually include some kind meat, some kind cabbage, carrots, potatoes and spices. Sour schi are prepared with sauerkraut or mix of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage.
I do cook schi with just sauerkraut and I prefer pork broth for sauerkraut schi, however you may use beef for it if you don’t like pork.
Minced Beef Cutlets
January 23rd, 2010 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
This it a traditional russian recipe for minced meat cutlets which includes meat, white bread soaked in milk and a lot of onions. Some people prepare those cutlets from beef only, some add a bit of pork or pork fat in them. I prefer just beef.
You may grind or mince meat yourself or buy a ground one and simply add finely chopped or grated onions: whatever you prefer. Either way I am sure it will taste delicious!
I’ve served those cutlets with fried potatoes and greek salad, just in case you were curious.
Bigos (Cabbage and Pork Stew)
December 19th, 2009 in Pork by Julia Volhina
Bigos, as a cabbage and meat stew, is very popular second course dish in countries of East Europe. I believe it was originated in Poland, however recipes similar to polish bigos can be found in cuisines of Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and maybe some others. In Poland bigos is traditional dish to be served on Second day of Christmas.
Ingredients for bigos vary, some of them may or may not include tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, honey and even prunes; beef, veal, pork, bacon, smoked ham, smoked sausages or a combination of those.
However common parts for each bigos recipe are some kind of meat, white cabbage and sauerkraut.
I cook bigos (by the way it is called “solyanka” in Russia and Ukraine, even though there is a soup with the same name) with pork, a lot of cabbage (fresh and sour), carrots, onions, bay leaves and spice it with whole black peppercorns, just like it was always cooked in my family. Hope you will like it too.
Lenten Borscht with Mushroom Dumplings
December 12th, 2009 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
In a lot of countries Christmas Eve dinner gathers whole family around one big table. Borscht with mushroom dumplings is the one of 12 dishes which usually are on that table by tradition in West Ukraine (by the way those dumplings are called “vushka” in ukrainian, which means “small ears”, I guess because of the shape).
Of course, because that is the Christmas Eve and Nativity Fast isn’t finished yet there is no meat used to prepare it: just vegetables and dried mushrooms. This borscht like the rest of the Christmas Eve’s traditional food is lenten, it is very tasty and isn’t heavy at all – most of the vegetables are used to prepare clear broth only and don’t get served with the borscht itself.
At first glance, it may look like cooking it is a bit of a hassle and time spending: so many steps (I’ve prepared 34 step-by-step pictures for this recipe!) and so many manipulations with different cooking utensils. However, you can complete preparation steps a day in advance – for example soak mushrooms, boil them or/and boil beets, you can even make dumplings a day before, freeze them and prepare the borscht next day. And then, nobody said you need to make everything yourself: involve your family into helping you! And have a Merry Christmas!