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Central and Eastern Europe à la carte – Russia
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Russia:
Babushka’s Favorite Recipes
It is said that the foundations for the multi-course meals now typical of French grande cuisine
were laid by the feasts consumed by the Russian tsars and their entourages during frequent
visits to Paris. But that was a long time ago: with the arrival of the October Revolution,
such gourmet extravaganzas disappeared for quite some time.
What remained, however, were the blinis. These thin pancakes of buckwheat flour can be
found today as a convenience product of the “caviar society” in any gourmet shop worthy of
the name. Aficionados, however, insist on the necessity of freshly preparing them in a heavy
cast-iron blini pan. Sour cream is an obligatory addition, whether the blinis are served
with caviar or salmon. What many people don’t realize, however, is that blinis can also
be served with a mushroom, vegetable or meat filling, or simply brushed with melted butter.
Adding lots of butter to the yeast batter as well makes the blinis especially light.
But Russians do not live by blinis alone; they also love soups. Shtshi, for example, a nutritious
peasant dish of cabbage, diced vegetables, meat, spices and sour cream. It might be said
to be the “babushka” of all Russian soups. Shtshi can also include beets and kvas,
a sour mixture of rye flour fermented with yeast.