What’s typical in the Russian Cuisine?
What’s typical in the Russian Cuisine? Have you ever heard about Bortscht or Pelmeni?
Unfortunately, Russian food isn’t as popular as Italian or American food for example, but this huge country offers a lot more besides caviar and vodka. Only a few dishes of Russian cuisine have received international renown. Today I would like to give go a little insight about a few typical local dishes.
It’s not a big surprise that temperatures in winter can drop to -30°C (-22°F) in many parts of Russia, such as in Saint Petersburg or Moscow and the people there due to that start to eat more hearty. They love bread, pastries, potatoes and sour cream is the ingredient of every meal. Furthermore, they adore smoked fish, thin crêpes, as well as red and black caviar. So let’s start with the most typical ones you should know:
Bortscht – This is a traditional red soup made of beet and cabbage. It can be served with meat or vegetarian, potatoes, herbs (usually dill) and a dollop of sour cream. Accompanied with a piece of garlic bread it’s very delicious especially on cold winter days.
Blini’s – Also known as Russia’s version of thin French crêpes or Russian pancakes, blini’s are typically made with buckwheat. Smoked Salmon, mushrooms, ham, sour cream, or chocolate, jam and fruits are the common toppings. Try them!
Shashlik – Another very popular dish is roasted meat and fish on skewers, which is a form of shish kebab. The Russian version though is served with bigger portions of beef, chicken, salmon or lamp. Besides, you will get Russian pickles, bread and sometimes a spicy tomato sauce.
Pelmeni – Never heard about it? The Russian dumplings are usually stuffed with ground meat, mashed potatoes, creamy mushrooms, herbs or fish. The opposite of Pelmeni, the sweet alternative “Wareniki”, can be served with any kind of fruits and sour cream.
I think I have to stop writing more about Russian Cuisine right now, because I got very hungry. Of course, there are wide more typical dishes I could tell you about and maybe I will do that in my next blog. So, if you are ever travelling to Russia, PLEASE TRY one of these specialties.
This blog was brought to you by Daniela Danzinger, intern and student at Liden & Denz.
