Welcome to Russia!
Russia has such a deep rich culture, which is reflected in their rich and hearty cuisine.
Dairy, meat, breads, and stews make up most of the foods found here.
We made a meal pieced together with several different dishes.
Russia has such a deep rich culture, which is reflected in their rich and hearty cuisine.
Dairy, meat, breads, and stews make up most of the foods found here.
We made a meal pieced together with several different dishes.
First of all, every gathering starts with a toast. A toast usually involves vodka and dill pickles, or other appetizers.
Toasting 'to your health' is always traditional, but toasts can often spill over to acknowledge success, good friends, and congratulations.
"You do not exhale, and you immediately eat something to kind of stun the taste," explains Anya von Bremzen, author of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. "A shot of vodka, a little pickle, a little herring canapé."
(Obviously Toby didn't partake in this)
We started with a cucumber and radish salad. This salad is simply dressed using a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt, green onion, and lemon juice.
Also on the menu was Olivier salad. Potatoes, vegetables, pickles, and meat are cut small and mixed with mayonaise to make a creamy, tangy side dish. Although similar to 'american' potato salad, the flavour is very distinct to it's Russian roots.
No trip to Russia is complete without borscht. This beet and cabbage soup is a sweet and savoury soul warmer. Although beets are not everyone's favourite, the bay leaves and dill in this recipe lend enough flavour to make it more than just boiled vegetables, and a healthy dose of yogurt or sour cream on top ties it all together.
No trip to Russia is complete without borscht. This beet and cabbage soup is a sweet and savoury soul warmer. Although beets are not everyone's favourite, the bay leaves and dill in this recipe lend enough flavour to make it more than just boiled vegetables, and a healthy dose of yogurt or sour cream on top ties it all together.
Dinner was beef stroganoff! This creamy beef and mushroom gravy is ladled over noodles or potatoes and must be enjoyed without guilt.
For dessert we made apple sharlotka.
Apple sharlotka is an apple packed cake-like dessert. It has more fruit than one would normally put in a cake, but it has batter stirred throughout and so can't be called a pie.
This recipe calls for 4 eggs, which would make it rise properly and hold it together, but because I was trying to make it with and egg substitute it was more of a gooey mess. If I try this again I'll use a vegan cake recipe instead of trying to alter this one.
As with any dessert though, if you add enough icing sugar and ice cream, appearances don't matter.
For dessert we made apple sharlotka.
Apple sharlotka is an apple packed cake-like dessert. It has more fruit than one would normally put in a cake, but it has batter stirred throughout and so can't be called a pie.
This recipe calls for 4 eggs, which would make it rise properly and hold it together, but because I was trying to make it with and egg substitute it was more of a gooey mess. If I try this again I'll use a vegan cake recipe instead of trying to alter this one.
As with any dessert though, if you add enough icing sugar and ice cream, appearances don't matter.
Asia is done! Off to northern Europe!
Happy Eating!!
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