Tag: Russian traditional
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No-egg Dairy-free Dough for Pirozhki
This year I’m making yet another attempt to observe the Nativity Fast. During this fast one cannot eat anything of animal origin. That means no omelette until Christmas (!), no milk in my morning coffee (!!), no butter on a toast (!!!), and no roasted chicken. 😦 Imagine how challenging it is for a person…
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Kulich: Orthodox Easter Bread
For many Orthodox Christians kulich, the festive and colorful bread, is traditionally a part of their Easter morning table, along with paskha and colored boiled eggs. During Soviet era, when people were deprived of God and faith by the regime, many older people still prepared traditional meals for religious festivities and observed religious holidays at…
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Hot Non-Alcoholic Fruit Punch
As soon as I came to Zürich two weeks ago the weather turned foul and hasn’t even once cleared up (until today, yay!). It was also cold, and being optimistic about spring I didn’t pack anything warm enough. Under these circumstances one can’t go on drinking mulled wine every day (next fall I promise to…
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Buttermilk Blini
Loved by many as a common weekend breakfast, blini are also a ritual food in Russia. They symbolize sun and are the main food during Pancake Week (Maslenitsa), a celebration of upcoming spring. They are also served during mercy meals and memorial dinners, where they also carry a symbolism: the connection between lower and upper worlds and…
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Yeast Blini
Yeast blini have been traditionally prepared in Russia at Pancake Week (Maslenitsa). Before Christianity onset it was a week of pagan celebrations when people parted with harsh Winter and welcomed long-awaited Spring. Nowadays it is a week of festivities at the end of winter, before Great Lent that lasts until Orthodox Easter. People gather in still snowy parks to sing,…
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Belyashi : Fried Pies with Meat
These small meat pies come from Tajik cuisine, but were traditionally cooked in Russia. In the Soviet era they used to sell hot belyashi from big pots right on the corners of busy streets, where hungry students immediately formed a line to buy a hot pie for about 15 kopecks each. It was not as…
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Fish Soup – Ukha
When you buy fish at a fish market they usually ask if you need it to be trimmed, beheaded, scaled, skinned, and filleted. Well, if you need just pieces of flesh for a main course – yes, but not when you intend to make a fish soup. Ukha (Russian fish soup) is made out of…
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Open Fish Pie
Baking fish pies in winter was a tradition in our family. Fish was abundant and readily available, thanks to my father’s rewarding occupation. He was a pilot of a small meteorological crew, and brought sacks of frozen fish and many other goodies from his flights to the north. The Soviet food industry was near to…
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Red Radish Salad
An advocate of minimalism in life, which unfortunately is possible mostly theoretically in our world of consumerism, I adore simple dishes that do not involve many ingredients. Some of those dishes come from my childhood in Russia, where minimalism was dictated by permanent deficit. Our memory carries on all our life impressions including food, and…
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Okroshka
Okroshka is a traditional cold Russian summer soup that doesn’t need to be boiled. It is usually made on hot days when nobody wants to move, let alone cook something serious in the kitchen. This soup contains mostly raw vegetables, boiled eggs, and fermented drink kvas. It makes a quintessential healthy food. This soup is…
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Quick Olady – Mini Buttermilk Pancakes
Olady (pronounced [aladyi]) is one of many Russian traditional flour treats, usually served for breakfast. There are classic and simple olady. Classic are made with yeast, and simple are made with baking soda and buttermilk or sour cream. Today’s recipe is fast and simple, the final product is light and airy, and just begs to…
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Happy Easter!
Happy Easter, folks! May Peace, Love and Prosperity follow you at all times. I love Easter: winter with its snow aggravation is behind, the sun shines more, and people look happier. Today we had a lovely Easter branch with painted eggs, buns, and a variation of no-bake cheese cake Russian style that is traditionally prepared…
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Golubtsy – Cabbage Rolls with Meat
Russian golubtsy that are known in America mostly as Polish golabki, are simply cabbage rolls with meat and are popular in many European countries. I consider golubtsy one of Russian traditional and loved dishes. It takes some effort and patience, but the payoff is just great: steaming hot rolls with most delightful meat filling accompanied…
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Solyanka – Meat Soup with Pickles
After battling with the snow on our roof and driveway, we had a little break of warmth and sunshine. Not for long! The weekend was disappointingly windy and cold. Our aching bodies begged for a proper fuel… Browsing through famous Cookbook by Elena Molokhovets, I suddenly remembered this soup: loaded with different meats, cucumbers, olives,…
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Charlotte – Easy Apple Pie
This is a Russian favorite (pronounced Shar-lot-ka), and also probably the easiest cake you will ever bake. It requires hardly any preparation and only the most basic ingredients. And yet… the distinctive pink crust and lovely tartness of the apples make it a perfect home-made companion to tea and coffee. Ready to try? What you…
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Mushroom Soup Russian Style
The first rays of the sun are piercing the crowns of Siberian pines… A mооsе family trotted afar, and disappeared in the morning fog… An early lizard darted onto the stump, and froze, catching the sunshine… The air is fresh and brisk… I am walking along the path overgrown with blue moss… I am looking…
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Cloaked Herring
This Holiday Season was marred for me by a nasty flu that has been keeping me disabled in terms of elaborate cooking. Alas. I will see better days… Only Masha’s presence and inspiration made it possible to create something worth mentioning. The herring dish I am sharing with you today is one of the favorite…
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Olivier – Russian Salad
Most of the potato salads served in American Restaurants under the name “Russian Salad“, are simplified variations of this 20th century Russian classic. In Russia this salad is most commonly called Olivier Salad, and no self-respecting Russian feast can go without it. Where I come from, we call it simply the Winter Salad. Indeed, every…
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Vinegret – Jazzy Holiday Salad
Without vinegret, a winter vegetable salad, Russian traditional table is missing one of its important components. As far as I remember my precious self, vinegret (please do not confuse it with vinaigrette – a dressing made of oil and vinegar)was always in my mama’s festive winter menu, especially on New Year’s eve. Colorful, refreshing and…
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Kholodets – Meat Jelly
Meat jelly is no other than boiled meat pieces in aspic. This is one of the dishes I love and remember from my mom’s holiday menu. Kholodets that derives in Russian from the word kholod (cold) is a traditional winter treat, loved by many. It takes one day and half a night to prepare, but the result is…
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