Russian Borsch

Here is the recipe of the most classic Russian recipe: borsch.

Every Russian family knows how to make one, but everyone has something different. My recipe has a little more complications than some others do, but everyone, I'm not kidding, everyone always eats it all and asks for more. This meal is the most popular among my friends and family comparing to anything else I cook.

You need:

Beef and/or pork with bones (1-2 lb.)

Beets (1 large or 2 small to medium)

Carrots (2-3 small to medium)

Cabbage (a half of small to medium cabbage-head)

Onion (1 medium to large)

Tomato (1 medium to large)

Red or Yellow bell pepper (1/2 to 1)

Potatoes (3 medium sized)

Spring (green) onions

Dill, parsley

Garlic, Whole black pepper, Cloves, Bay leaves, Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Vegeta (a mixture of spices from Croatia and Poland), Khmeli-suneli (Georgian mixture of spices), vegetable or sautéing bouillon cubes (Knorr).

Fill a half of saucepan with water and bring it to boil. Add bay leaves (3-4), cloves (10-15) and whole black pepper (10-15 peas). Add meat. I like a lot of meat in my borsch, so I used 1.8 lb of beef and about 0.7lb of pork. Both with some bones. Bones make the taste of soup richer.

When water is about to boil, make sure to pick all the foam. It doesn't make soup taste worse, but clear bouillon is simply better and more appetizing. Boil at low to medium power for the next 40-60 minutes. Longer is better, so if you have plenty of time make your broth even richer by boiling it longer.

Cut onion into small pieces. Sauté onions until they are lightly golden.

Dice from half to whole bell pepper (I used a half) and add it to onions.

Peel and shred carrots. Add them to onions and peppers.

Peel and shred beets. One medium to large or tow small to medium beets should be enough. Accidently I had tree quite large beets and used them all. Sautee' vegetables for some time and take care of the broth.

Meanwhile, when meat and broth are ready, take the meat and spices out of the bouillon. I drained the bouillon to another dish and then placed it back in the saucepan.

Shred cabbage (I used a half of one medium-sized cabbage-head) and add it to the bouillon. I like very soft fully cooked cabbage in my borsch, but some people like it a little bit crispy. If you prefer it crispy, add it much later. If it looks like you don't have enough bouillon, add some water.

Dice tomatoes and add them to sautéed  vegetables. Continue cooking until tomatoes are soft. Some people prefer to take the tomatoes' skin off by rapidly placing them in the hot water. I just cook them and then a little bit mash them in the vegetable mixture. After tomatoes are softened, take the vegetable mix off the stove.

Peel potatoes and cut them in the bite-sized pieces. Add them to the broth. Add spices: garlic (fresh or powder), pepper, paprika. I use Vegeta, which is a mixture of spices and dried vegetables that you can find in any Russian grocery store. If you can, give it a chance, try it - you'll love it. It is already salty. I also put one cube of Knorr sautéing bouillon (which is also salty) and khmeli-sunel(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmeli_suneli - see what's in it and use any or all of this spices in your borsch, be creative!), you can also find it at the Russian grocery store - most big cities have these stores. I don't add salt, because my condiments have enough of it.

While your cabbage and potatoes are cooking, take care of the meat. Cut it into bite-size pieces. Then add it to the soup. Most housewives don't do this step. They just leave whole pieces of meat in their soup. I prefer to have even portions of meat in every plate I serve.

Add sautéed vegetables to the soup.

When potatoes are ready add chopped green onions, parsley and/or dill. I love dill in my borsch. Unfortunately, this time I only had green onions. Turn the stove off, cover saucepan with the lid and let it stay for additional 5 minutes - greens (onions, parsley and dill) will be ready.

Serve with sour cream and pumpernickel bread.

Enjoy!

Ala

Fall's Favorite: Pumpkin.

There are many meals that can be done with pumpkin. Today I decided to try two different recipes that I found on the Russian Web sites. I have never cooked anything with pumpkin before, so this was totally new field for me. First recipe is a pumpkin and raisins dessert, and second one is pumpkin casserole. At the end I enjoyed latter one more. In this post I'll share the firts recipe:

Pumpkin with raisins and cream desert

You'll need:

Pumpkin (I used about a pound)

Cream (Half and half), amount depends on the baking dish size.
Raisins (about a half a cup)
Sugar (to your taste)
Butter (1-2 table spoons)
Vanillin (to your taste)





Clean the pumpkin from seeds, peel and cut in cubes.
Mix cubed pumpkin with sugar and vanillin. Use natural, not artificial vanillin for better taste. Artificial vanillin gives a bitter taste to your meal. I used about 5-6 tablespoons of sugar. Let the pumpkin with sugar stay for several minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the baking dish (or dishes). Spread butter on its buttom.




Layer pumpking and raisins in the dish.

Cover pumpkin and raisins with the cream. Pour crem to the point when there are still some pieces shown.

Place in the oven. Cook at 350-400F for 40-50 minutes.

On the pickture you can see how it looked after I took it out of the oven. I carefully took the creamy film off.

Serve cold.

Enjoy!

Come back to our site in the couple days to check pumkin casserole recipe!

Ala

Chicken and Carrots Salad

I'd like to share the recipe that everyone loves. It is Russian style again. It means that there are some calories in it. But only in mayo, which is not that bad.

What you need for this salad:

- Carrots
- Onions
- Chicken (white or dark meat or both)
- Dried prunes
- Mayonnaise
- Salt
- Pepper or garlic powder to your taste

As always, I'm not trying to convince you, my dear readers, in any better way of making the meal. I want you to know all the variations that you can choose from.

First, chicken, carrots and onions need to be prepared.

Poach chicken for a little while in salted water. I usually use chicken legs and a little bit of chicken breast meat and let it simmer for about one hour. When chicken is poached for a while its meat peels off easily from the bones. I don't use only white meat, because it tends to be drier than dark one. But you can always use it! You don't have to boil chicken for a long time if it's only boneless breast. Look here for some info about boiling chicken breast: http://www.commoncookingquestions.com/?p=125 - find remember, take chicken breast out as soon as it turns from red to white inside. Don't overcook it, it'll get dry.

Cut cooked chicken in bite-sized pieces.

Boil carrots. Variations that exist here are:
  * I peel carrots first and then boil until cooked. Just poke them and make sure they are soft inside.
  * Some people boil carrots first and then peel them. Theoretically, it is supposed to be easier to peel a cooked carrot, but, personally, it takes me longer to do so.
  * Some people grate raw carrots and then sauté them. I don't use this way because it is harder to grate raw carrots then cooked carrots if you use hand grater and because you need to use some amount of oil or butter, which make the salad heavier. If you have food processor with a grater attachment and prefer to cook carrots this way - go ahead and do so!

Grate cooked carrots.
Chop one large raw onion and sauté it until golden.
Cut prunes in halves (or smaller pieces). I usually wash prunes beforehand and, if they are not soft enough, I let them soak in the water for about 15-20 minutes.

Mix grated cooked carrots, chopped chicken, sautéed onions, prunes and mayo. Add salt to you taste. I usually add some powdered garlic. Use some pepper if you want.

This is mostly chicken and carrots salad, but onions and prunes add some unforgettable taste to it. Don't add too much of them. For a pound of carrots and pound of chicken I used one large onion and a handful of prunes.

Enjoy!

Ala

Recipe: Russian "French style meat"

Here is the Russian recipe I’d like to share with you. I just want to warn you before you go on reading through it that Russian kitchen is pretty rich. You’ll find a lot of recipes with mayo, butter or fatty pieces of meat. But the meals are very good and delicious! You don’t have to eat them all the time, but you can indulge yourself sometimes, right?
The recipe of baked under mayo and cheese meat we, Russians, used to call “French meat”. Don’t be fooled by the name. This recipe has nothing to do with French kitchen. This is probably because in native Russian kitchen sour cream, not mayo is often used (yes, famous Russian salad Russians don’t consider to be Russian: )). And there is not a lot of cheese in the original Russian recipes.
For this recipe you can use any type of meat, chicken or even fish. Most popular is pork, some use veal, some chicken. Meat will be tender and juicy and absolutely delicious. Try it!
 This recipe has a lot of variations. Besides different types of meat some may add potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini or bell peppers. You can pick any type of cheese you like, but I would recommend choosing medium or sharp one.

For 5-6 servings you need:

-2 lb. of lean pork

-3 medium onions

-8 oz. of shredded cheese

-About 2 cups of mayonnaise

-Salt

-Pepper

I bought thin sliced lean pork chops. If you have regular ones, you’ll need to cut them lengthwise.

Tenderize each piece of meat with meat tenderizer.

Put salt and pepper to your taste and place meat on a tray slightly oiled beforehand.

Slice onions in a half rings.

Spread onions on the top of meat evenly. This is a step where variations exist. Some people put onions on the bottom of a tray, others add thin sliced potatoes, or mushrooms, or zucchini, or bell peppers. Whatever you like more and think that will go really good with your meal - just add it and see how it goes. Or just try simple and well-tried by me way.

Cover meat and onions with cheese. I picked Colby Jack mix.

Cover cheese with mayonnaise. Mayo doesn't let cheese to burn too fast, thus it is better when it covers cheese, not the other way. But you can find plenty of recipes that tell you to spread mayo first and then cheese. So, you can do it either way. Just remember: I'm sure my way is a better one :)

Cook in the oven for about 40-45 minutes at 375 F. You can set the oven at 350 F and cook for one hour, or set it at 400 F and reuce time a little. Longer cooking time will make meat more tender.

Serve hot with your choice of side.

Enjoy!

Your Ala