3 Russian recipes that are easy cook at home

The Russian cuisine may not have the best reputation when compared to other cuisines, like Italian cooking. But what is a stay abroad without discovering the local cuisine? Apart from Russia’s traditional well-known culinary specialities like Caviar, Blini or Shaslik, there is even more to discover! To prove that the Russian cuisine includes delicious food, I’ll show you some recipes which are definitely worth trying out at home. As I love to cook, I prepared one of these traditional Russian dishes every day for three days at home. Get inspired by the recipes below and enjoy your meal!

Day 1: Blinis

Definitely one of the classics of Russian cuisine. What makes it so special for me is the diversity of toppings. Whether you like it topped with sour cream, jam, bacon or salmon – every variation is delicious!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

• 4 ¼ cups of milk
• 5 eggs
• 1/3 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon citric acid powder
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2/3 cup butter

Preparation

Mix the eggs and the milk. Afterwards add salt, sugar, baking soda and citric acid and mix it again. After blending in the flour, add the oil and the boiling water while keep stirring. Let it rest for about 20 minutes and don’t worry if the texture is watery. Put a tablespoon of butter in a medium-high heated pan and make sure that you don’t pour too much batter in it, because the blinis should be thin, even though the entire bottom of the pan should be covered. After about 90 seconds, when the edge of the blini reached a gold-brown color, flip it and let it fry for another 60 seconds. That’s basically it. Don’t forget to put another tablespoon of butter in the pan before every blini. Finally add your favorite topping. I prefer them either with jam or smoked salmon combined with sour cream. And no worries, if the first blinis won’t perfectly fit your expectations. After every blini you will get a better feeling for and approach to the perfect blini. A tip for all fitness freaks: Replace the flour with whey protein and you will have a healthy alternative. Serve it with berries for example.

Day 2: Borsch

Maybe the first dish that comes to your mind if you think about Russian cuisine because it’s also known as the red Russian soup. Since it takes some time to cook, it makes sense to cook bigger portions and freeze them for later occasions. Especially for the winter months it’s a must in Russia!

Ingredients for 8 portions:

• 1 (3 cm) slice bone-in beef shank
• ¾ Water
• 1 onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups diced peeled beets
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• Salt and black pepper
• Sour cream, fresh dill (optional at the end)

Preperation

Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids. Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in a large soup pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Serve garnished with sour cream and dill to your taste.

Day 3: Salad Olivier

Since the Borsch was quite time consuming and rich, I decided to prepare a Salad Olivier for the last day. Lucien Olivier introduced this dish to the Russian cuisine in the 1860s. It’s usually served as a starter for festive dinners and is certainly the most commonly made salad in Russia. However, you can also buy it as a ready meal for take away in many restaurants or supermarkets.

Ingredients:

• Boiled potatoes
• Pickles
• boiled chicken/beef
• hard-boiled egg
• boiled carrots
• green peas
• salad mayonnaise
• dill, parsley, salt, pepper

I recommend you add as much of any ingredient as you wish.

Preparation

Attention, the preparation is extremely demanding: Put everything in a bowl and mix it.

The last three days were quite stressful, but it was definitely worth it. Don’t be afraid of adapting these recipes to your requirements and the most important thing after cooking – enjoy your food!

Приятного аппетита!