World Cuisine - Russia

Introduction

Each country’s national culture is also reflected in their cuisine and the Russian cuisine follows this path. The culinary aspects of Russia are also respected ambassadors of many Russian traditions and life styles. Many dishes which were appreciated in antiquity are still popular today, while new dishes are being invented by Russian chefs on a regular basis. Many traditional Russian dishes became known all over the world from the times of Peter the Great when hundreds of European cooks traveled back and forth to Russia cooking for the tsar’s banquets. Several new spices were adopted by the Russians - many of which had French origin - as the French cooks were among the most famous of those times. Some Russians stick with the original recipes for some of their traditional dishes, such as Pelmeni or meat dishes, while others prefer to bring new life to old recipes and add new ingredients and exotic spices which were unknown to Russians hundreds of years ago. Agriculture has always been used extensively in Russia and Wheat, Rye, Oats and millet were the main ingredients for any meal for centuries. Bread was and still is one of the food elements that are never absent from a Russian table. Bread is used with soup and the main course, although sometimes it may be left aside if the dish contains potatoes or pasta. Baking is also present since times immemorial and all grain based food products used in the past are still present today in one form or another. Meat is yet another essential element in the Russian cuisine. Hunting was extremely popular in Russia and it provided a large proportion of the meat that Russians consumed. Wild animal meat was gradually replaced by farmed animal meat although some of the most appreciated Russian dishes are prepared with boar or moose meat. Fish is also popular with a large variety of dishes and there are hundreds of fish species that are used in delicious and often extremely sumptuous dishes. The huge Russian forests also provided people with different types of berries and nuts which also find their way in today’s Russian dishes.

From: http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Russia

Recipes

Borscht

Servings: 4-6

1/2 oz butter
1 oz bacon, diced
4 oz onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 oz celery, diced
2 oz carrots, diced
4 oz green cabbage, chiffonade
12 oz beets, diced
1 oz tomato paste
3 cups chicken stock

2 oz potatoes diced
6 oz tomato concasse
2 oz sour cream
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh dill, chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Place the butter and bacon into a sauce pot and sweat, do not brown
2. Add the onions, garlic and sweat until translucent
3. Add the celery, carrots, cabbage, beets and sweat.
4. Add the tomato paste, chicken stock and bring to simmer over medium high heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes, tomato concasse and simmer for 10 more minutes or until all the vegetables are tender - do not overcook.
6. Adjust seasonings with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
7. Garnish soup with sour cream and fresh chopped dill just prior to serving.

Pojarskie

Servings: 4

4 oz bread, crust removed
2 oz whole milk
1 chicken, whole
2 oz butter, softened
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz butter
2 oz oil

Preparation:

1. Cut the crust off the bread and soak in the milk, set aside.
2. Bone the chicken, ending up with approximately 1lb boneless/skinless chicken meat.
3. Grind the chicken through a medium die, add the bread mixture, butter and seasoning, then grind through fine die.
4. Divide the chicken meat into 4oz patties and shape to look like a pork chop, place on saran wrap, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Apply standard breading procedure, set aside until needed.
6. Pan-fry the pojarskie in the butter and oil mixture until golden brown on the outside and cooked in the center.

Salmon Kulebyaka

Servings: 4

Brioche Dough:

1 1/2 oz milk
1/4 oz sugar
1/4 oz yeast

3 oz bread flour
1 whole egg
1/4 oz salt

2 eggs whole
10 oz bread flour
3 oz butter, melted

Rice Filling

1 oz butter
1 oz onion, diced
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 oz butter
8 oz mushrooms, diced
1 oz lemon juice

2 oz butter
3 oz onion, fine dice
1 egg, hardboiled, chopped
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste

12 oz salmon fillet

Preparation:

Brioche dough:

1. Combine the milk and sugar, heat to 110°F then add the dry yeast and rehydrate for 10 minutes.
2. Combine first flour, egg, and salt in a bowl, then add the milk and yeast mixture, blend with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Slowly add second flour, egg, and melted butter.
4. Knead the mixture by hand until the dough is smooth, slightly shiny and warm.
5. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and proof for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
6. Punch down the dough, knead slightly and retard.

Rice Filling:

1. With the first set of ingredients, prepare a rice pilaf.
2. Melt butter and sauté the mushrooms over high heat, finish with fresh lemon juice.
3. Heat a sauté pan and butter, sauté the onions until translucent and place into a bowl.
4. Combine the cooked mushrooms, rice pilaf, hard boiled egg, raw egg yolk and seasoning.

To assemble:

1. Roll out the dough to 1/8" thick and spread a 1/2" layer of rice mixture in the center of the dough, the size of the salmon fillet.
2. Place the salmon fillet on top of the rice and add another 1/2" layer of rice on top of the salmon.
3. Egg wash the edges of the pastry and fold the brioche over the top to cover the rice and salmon.
4. Place the seam at the bottom and eggwash the top and make marks with a fork.
5. Proof for approximately 20 minutes before baking.
6. Bake at 375°F until dough is golden brown on the outside and salmon fillet is cooked in the center, to about 145°F.

Glazed Carrots

Servings: 4

1 lb carrots, tournéed
2 oz butter, whole
1/2 oz water
1 oz brown sugar, granulated
Salt and white pepper to taste
Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Parboil the prepared carrots until tender.
2. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, water, and brown sugar, bring to a simmer and add the carrots.
3. Heat the carrots tossing them until they are glazed.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.

Glazed Turnips

Servings: 4

1 lb Turnips, tournéed
2 oz butter
1/2 oz water
1 oz maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cinnamon
Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Parboil the prepared turnips until tender.
2. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, water and maple syrup, bring to a simmer and add the turnips.
3. Heat the turnips tossing them until they are glazed.
4. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and add a pinch of cinnamon.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.

Glazed Beets

Servings: 4

1 lb beets, whole
1 oz butter
1/2 lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 oz maple syrup
Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil the beets in salt water, whole in their skin until tender.
2. Drain, cool and peel the beets, cut into wedges.
3. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, lemon juice and maple syrup, bring to a simmer and add the beets.
4. Heat the beets tossing them until they are glazed.
5. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Practical

Our plating for the day was to serve the Borscht first, the Pojarskie as an appetizer style dish second, and finish with the Salmon Kulebyaka served with the vegetable side dishes.

We started by preparing the Borscht and getting it cooking. Once the soup was going, we deboned and prepared the chicken and got it shaped and in the fridge to cool. We also prepared the rice filling for the kulebyaka at this time.

At this point we prepared the brioche dough for the kulebyaka and set it aside to rest. We then prepared our vegetables to be served with the kulebyaka, and blanched those that we could.

At this point we were able to serve our Borscht. We were able to follow this shortly with breading the pojarskie, cooking it and serving it as well. We then finished preparation on the Kulebyaka, laying down the rice layer and placing the salmon on top, then another rice layer and wrapping the whole thing with the brioche dough. This was put into the oven to cook as we finished the vegetables with their glazing and seasoning. Once the kulebyaka was cooked, the whole dish was served.

Observations

Due to the beet content, Borscht has a very interesting red colour. It is also very flavourful, and the vegetable content makes for a very healthy yet filling dish. Chef commented on the appropriate consistency of our dish - borscht is a thin soup with vegetables, so the liquid should not be thick or stewy.

The pojarskie was an interesting dish. The first thing I thought of was that shaping a chicken based dish like a pork cutlet was peculiar, however after cooking and tasting the dish, either it actually does taste like pork, or your mind fools you into thinking it tastes like pork. For this dish Chef commented on the appropriate colouring of the breading after cooking, and appropriate seasoning to the dish.

Our kulebyaka came out very well. It was quite flavourful with the salmon cooked quite well. We were getting close to over-doing the salmon, as it had started to lose some moisture, but it was still very good. Chef commented on our rice being an appropriate consistency and sticking together well, not falling apart or out of the pastry when it was cut into. Overall, a very good dish. The vegetable accompaniments were fairly standard for us and there wasn't much to comment on regarding them.