Russian Cuisine

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Russian cuisine is certainly among the most colorful of all the ethnic groups in the world. With dishes like the fragrant Borshch with Smetana (Russian sour cream), titillating pirogi, kulebyaka, pickled mushrooms, rasstegai, crispy pickles, Basturma, and of course all the amazingly sumptuous sauces, WOW … they can put on a table spread that will engage your eyes, nose, touch and taste in a way that is absolutely amazing.

Unlike Western countries, in Russia, lunch is typically the main and largest meal of the day. Working men usually have a full one hour lunch break sometime between 1 and 3 p.m., enough time to relax and have a large, enjoyable meal.

There is always a good bread on the table (for lunch or dinner), and the meal will consisting of a first course of hot soup (пе́рвое блю́до or simply пе́рвое), a meat with potatoes entree as the second course, followed by a third course of pasta (второ́е) or porridge. After eating, drinks (тре́тье) are served, most often kompot (a non-alcoholic drink made with fruit boiled in water), coffee, fruit juice, or tea. тре́тье is often served with a desert, typically a slice of cake, or some chocolates.

We’ll start off our Russian ethnic food adventure with this, one of the many yummy Russian hors oeuvres recipes, which is also among the more easy Russian food recipes: a meat appetizer, the first of many you will find here, representative of the finest-

Please note: For your convenience, you can click on the recipes listed below and be taken directly to a page with just that one recipe on it, in printer-friendly format.

You are certainly welcomed to read through this whole page, all the recipes are here as well, and there are some videos and pertinent information on background, history, customs, special notes, etc., so it is well worth the read.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order:

Baked Pirohi (Russian Pastry dish)

Beef Stroganoff (Authentic, Traditional Russian style)

Basturma (Marinated Beef Appetizer)

Borsch Kievsky

Cold Beets and Cucumber Salad

Khalva (Syrupy Walnut Cake)

Kazakh Noodles

Basturma

(Russian Marinated Beef Appetizer)

Ingredients:

½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
½ tsp. freshly ground black peppercorns
1 tsp. freshly ground course sea salt
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 lb. beef sirloin fillet, thin sliced
Black and green whole olives, for garnish
Fresh romaine lettuce, for serving

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped onion, basil, vinegar, salt and pepper, to make the marinade.
Put the sirloin slices in the bowl, and toss and mix until all slices are well coated, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate at room temperature for a good 6 hours, stirring and tossing every hour or so, to ensure even marinating.
While the meat is marinating, soak some wooden skewers for at least 2 hours in water.
To cook, either use a charcoal grille, with the coals ashy white hot, or your oven on highest broil heat. Take the meat out of the marinade and string the slices onto the skewers, packing them tightly together. If using the oven, place the rack 4 inches from the heat source, if grilling, directly over the pile of white hot coals, and turn them over now and then until the meat is cooked to your desired level of doneness. For rare meat, allow about 7 to 8 minutes; for well-done allow about 12 minutes, but this could vary depending on how thin your meat is sliced.
To serve, place a bed of romaine lettuce on a serving dish, slide the sirloin slices off the skewers onto the bed, and garnish with some black and green whole olives, then whet your appetite with this tasty treat, because we have lots more courses to come, of authentic Russian cuisine!

It is tradition, for the main meal of the day, when dining Russian cuisine style, to have a hot soup before the main, heavier entrees are served.

Here is a fabulous dish, one of the many authentic Russian soup recipes to further whet your appetite for what’s still to come!

Borsch Kievsky

Ingredients:

(serves 4 to 6)

For the Soup Stock-

1-1/2 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
1 lb. beef bone marrow
1 lb. meaty ham bone
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
3 quarts water
1 large turnip, peeled and grated
2 large celery stalks, sliced, with leaves left on*
4 sprigs of fresh dill weed*
4 sprigs of fresh parsley*
24 whole black peppercorns*
6 bay leaves*

For the Soup-

4 large red beets, peeled grated
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1” cubes
1 lb. Roma Plum Tomatoes, skinned and rough chopped
2 large yellow onions, peeled and rough chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced lengthwise, and crosscut into 1” pieces
2 red bell peppers, de-seeded and rough chopped
¼ cup safflower oil
1 tsp. salt
6 cups shredded cabbage
6 tbsp. tomato paste
12 dried prunes, pitted and rough chopped
2 lemons
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. freshly ground black peppercorns
8 large garlic cloves, minced
4 thick strips of bacon, crispy fried and crumbled into bits
4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 tbsp. chopped fresh dill weed
2 green onions, finely chopped, for garnish
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, for garnish

Directions:

Place the last four stock ingredients (they are marked with *) in a small cloth bag. Tie the bag shut and put it into a very large stock cooking pot.
Fill the pot with the water, and add in the meat, meat marrow, and ham bone, and bring the water up to a boil. Cook until the meat is becoming tender; as it boils, skim the froth off the top as necessary.
Now add in all the remaining stock ingredients, reduce the heat to where your soup is cooking at just a lively simmer, put a lid on the pot, and simmer-cook for a full hour.
While the Borsch is cooking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Clean the beets in fresh water, dry and peel them, then wrap them in tin or aluminum foil, then bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven, allow to cool to where you can handle them, and then dice them into ¼” cubes.
Remove the ham bone, meat, and marrow bones from the stock, and set the marrow bones aside.
Now strain the stock through a fine sieve into another, clean pot, and discard the solids.
Bring the stock back up to a boil, and then add in the potatoes and tomatoes, with salt and pepper, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, after reducing heat to where the stock is at just a lively simmer.
Sauté the bell pepper, carrots, and onions in a skillet (preferably a cast-iron skillet) for 5 or 6 minutes, then stir in the cabbage and continue to cook the whole mixture for another 10 to 12 minutes.
Take the skillet off the burner, and add the vegetables into the stock.
Squeeze the juice of two lemons over the roasted beet cubes, and add them to the stock.
Next add the honey, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the stock
Cut the ham meat away from the bone and chop it into small bits, chop the beef into ½” cubes, and strip the marrow out of the marrow bones, then add add all of this to the stock and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Take the pot off the burner and serve immediately, with a bowl of Greek yogurt on the table to pass, for each person to garnish their helping as desired. As you fill each person’s bowl, garnish the top with a sprinkling of chopped green onions.

Among the Russian hor d oeuvres recipes most often found on the dinner table before the main courses are served, will be at least one bread or pastry.

This next offering of Russian cuisine is a real taste treat, a melt-in-your-mouth pastry.

Baked Pirohi

Ingredients:

For the Dough-

5 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled, boiled, mashed
1 cup whole milk (please, no 2% or skim!)
4 egg yolks, beaten
¼ tsp. freshly ground coarse sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda

For the Filling-

12 oz. sauerkraut, chopped fine and squeezed dry
Pork fat
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
Freshly ground course sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
1 lb. butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt enough pork fat in a saucepan to saturate the chopped onions, and fry until the onions are fragrant and translucent and have absorbed all the pork fat. If need be, drain off any excess fat in a sieve.
Mash those potatoes well! No lumps, please, they must be perfectly smooth and creamy.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg yolks, and one tsp. of the baking soda, then add ¼ tsp. salt.
Alternately, add in flour and milk, with flour being the last alternate.
Flour a bread or kneading board (or any flat surface that is convenient), take the dough mixture out of the bowl, and roll it out on the kneading surface until it is consistently 1/8” thick.
Cut out rounds with a 4” cookie cutter, until all the dough is used up.
Put the rounds in the palm of your hand, place just enough filling in the center so that you can then fold the edges up together and pinch the pirohi together and seal it—without any filling oozing out of the seal. You may have to practice a couple times to get this step just right. It sometimes helps to wet the edges of the dough with a little water to get a better seal.
Bake until the pirohis are a pleasant golden brown color, then remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, or until cooled enough to handle.
Moisten each pirohi by simply wetting your hands and rolling them in your palms, then set them aside in a pot.
Pour melted butter all over the pile of pirohis, and shake the pot to distribute the butter evenly, and then cover the pot and set aside for a bit. If it is going to be a while before you have the rest of the meal ready to serve, you could keep them warm in the oven on its lowest heat setting—they do taste the best when eaten warm.

Almost any country and ethnic culture in Europe and North America has its own versions of the Beef Stroganoff. But the country of this world-renowned dish, where it was originated from, Russia, has the best. You simply cannot beat a classic, authentic, and traditional Russian Beef Stroganoff recipe, and that is exactly what you have right here …

Russian Cuisine at its finest!

Russian Style Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

2-1/4 lb. boneless beef sirloin
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. ketchup
5 oz. sour cream
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp. flour, pounded with butter
1 small to medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste

Directions:

Slice the sirloin lengthwise into thin strips and pound them some to further tenderize.
Next, crosscut the sirloin strips into about 2” long chunks.
In a large mixing bowl, put in 4 tbsp. flour, and grind in salt and pepper, to taste, and then stir and blend together to make you seasoned flour.
Dredge and roll the sirloin chunks in the seasoned flour, until coated well, all over.
Sauté the chopped onion and sliced mushrooms in a large saucepan over medium high heat until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are fragrant and translucent, starting to turn golden brown.
Now add in the seasoned sirloin and sauté until the meat is a light brown color.
While the meat is cooking, make your sauce: pound 1 tbsp. of flour with some room temperature butter and fry it for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add ketchup, sour cream, broth, and salt to taste, stir and blend together well.
Now pour the sauce over meat, turn the heat down to low, and stew on a low simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. It is important you do not let the mixture boil, because that will toughen the meat. Simmer only, and your beef stroganoff will have delightful meat morsels the will melt and fall apart on your palate
Beef Stroganoff is served over any pasta of your choice (not spaghetti or fettucine, however) and often accompanied by fried potatoes.

Our next course is the pasta dish, Russian cuisine style!

Kazakh Noodles

Ingredients:

For the Noodles-

1-1/2 lb. all-purpose flour
3 cups water
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. freshly ground fine sea salt
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

For the Tuzduk (sauce)-

1 lb. boneless sirloin roast cut of lamb
½ red bell pepper, chopped fine
1 small carrot, peeled and thin sliced, lengthwise, then crosscut into 1-1/2 to 2” long pieces
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 dozen pearl onions, peeled and left whole
4 large cloves garlic, chopped finely
4 tbsp. ketchup
1 quart beef broth
Freshly ground coarse sea salt and red peppercorns

Directions:

To Make the Noodles-

Blend all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl thoroughly, and stir into a doughy consistency.
Allow the dough to set for 2-1/2 to 3 hours in a cool place.
Roll out half of the dough on a floured flat kneading surface, until about ½” thick. Cut into ½” cubes
Roll out the other half of the dough until 1/8” thick, then slice into 1/8” narrow strips, then crosscut the strips into 2” to 3” long pieces, and roll each piece until they are long, very thin, and cylindrical, like thick round noodles.
Next, place the dough cubes and noodles in a mixing bowl, and pour the vegetable oil over them, toss and stir so each piece is coated with oil, then set aside for half an hour.
Now take the pasta shaped pieces and pull on them from both ends, making them longer and thinner.
Boil the cubed pasta and the pulled noodles separately (the cubes will take longer) in boiling salted water and then strain off the water in a colander.

To Make the Tuzduk-

Chop the lamb into bite sized pieces; sauté in the vegetable oil until nicely browned on all sides, with the pearl onions, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, and also grind in some salt and red pepper, to taste.
Add in the broth and ketchup, bring to rolling boil, then lower the heat and cook at just a lively simmer until the meat is well tenderized.
Do a taste test, and adjust salt and pepper as necessary.
To serve, put a generous helping of the noodles in a serving bowl or plates with deep sides, and ladle the Tuzduk over the noodles, and serve immediately while still nice and hot.

We’ll round out our full meal of Russian cuisine with this delicious old fashioned Russian beet salad recipe, served cold.

Russian Old Fashioned Cold Beets and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

(serves 2)

4 large red beets, boiled
4 pickled cucumbers
6 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Mayonnaise, to taste and desired texture (please, real mayonnaise, not “Miracle Whip”, if you want true Russian cuisine!)
Fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Diced the beets and cucumbers into cubes of whatever size you desire and combine them in a large mixing bowl.
Add in the garlic, salt and mayonnaise to taste, and mix thoroughly.
Cover bowl, and place in the refrigerator until cooled before serving.
To serve, scoop a generous portion in each serving bowl, and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley.

Let’s now complete the meal with this, one of the many outstanding, traditional Russian deserts that Russian cuisine has to offer. The first time I tried this, I had to ask my host for the recipe, and I now gladly pass it on to you.

Khalva

(Syrupy Walnut Cake)

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
4 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, chopped in half
8 tbsp. melted, unsalted butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
A few extra walnuts, left whole, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 Celsius)
Combine 1-1/2 cups of milk with the sugar in an enameled mixing bowl over medium heat and, stirring non-stop, and cook until the sugar is all dissolved.
Stir the remaining milk, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch together in another bowl until well blended, and then pour into the milk-sugar mixture.
Bring the contents to a boil and cook, still stirring, until the mixture thickens and takes on the consistency of a custard, then remove from the burner and set aside.
In another bowl, combine the melted butter and walnuts, and toss the walnuts with a wooden spoon until they are well coated with butter, then spread them out in a casserole baking dish.
Place dish in the oven and roast them for about 20 minutes, or until toasty, turning them often with a spatula, until they turn a deep golden brown.
Now pour the custard evenly over the nuts, cover the dish with its lid (you can use foil if the dish doesn’t have a lid), and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the custard is thickened to almost cake-like, but yet still syrupy.
To serve, slice into generous squares, garnish with a whole walnut, and serve right away, while still nice and hot.

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