Vareniki

The only difference between pelmeni and vareniki is filling. Most popular fillings are berries with sugar. Take 3 parts of any berries you like, like raspberries, blueberries, and 1 part of sugar. Mix berries with sugar and add 1 tbsp per each piece of dough.
Use the same recipe for dough as I gave for pelmeni (ravioli with meat filling):

Dough – it’s the same as for ravioli:

All-purpose flour – 3 cups

Eggs – 3 large

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 1/3 cup

Beat eggs, oil, salt, and water, add 3/4 of flour, knead (long time), wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 30 min. To save time, I use Kitchen Aid mixer and dough hook and mix for at least 20 min on slow, then refrigerate for 30 min.

Cabbage and Tomatoes

Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1 small head
Tomatoes - 3 large
Salt - 2 tsp
Dill and cilantro - 1 bunch each (optional)

Instructions:

Fry cabbage on medium for 10 min, add coarsely chopped tomatoes and fry for 5 min more, add finely chopped dill and cilantro, cover it and let it stay for 10 min

Kiev Chicken Kotlety po-kievski

Chicken Kiev or Kotlety po-kievski

Ingredients:
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 lbs butter
1 egg
1 cup of flour
1 cup of bread crumbs

Instructions:

Put chicken breast smooth side down and flatten it to 1/4", add 1/4 stick of butter in the middle and roll breast tightly around it (Chicken and butter should be refrigerated before using). Roll each breast in flour, then dip in egg, then dip in bread crumbs. Once all breasts are ready, heat 1 stick of butter in a frying pan and fry turning chicken very carefully. Don't secure breasts with a toothpick, as it'll prevent you from frying it evenly for 15 min on medium. Serve it immediately and remember it can't be reheated, as you'll lose butter.

You may serve it as it is or you may put it on a toast. If you want to add side dish, boil any kind of rice, though in Russia it is served without any side dish.

Schee - Cabbage Soup

Schee - Cabbage Soup

1 lbs – 7-blade steak

Cabbage – 1/2 head (shredded)*

Tomatoes – 3 medium

Onion (sweet) – 1 & ½ medium size

Carrot – 1

Salt to taste (~3 tsp)

Bay leaves 4

Peppercorns (black) – 2 tsp

Dill weed – 2 tsp

1 whole root of parsley (optional, but it adds a very distinctive aroma to soup)

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp

Ketchup – 1 cup

Garlic – 6 big cloves or 1 tbsp canned

Cilantro – 1 bunch

Boil meat in ~ 8-10 cups of water with 1 whole carrot , ½ onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and dill weed for an hour after it starts boiling. Discard onion, peppercorn, bay leaves, dill weed, parsley root, and carrot*, take the meat out. Meanwhile, sauté  finely chopped onion**and 1 cup of ketchup until onions are browned and tender. Once onion is done, add it to broth and add chopped tomatoes, shredded cabbage, 1 cup of ketchup, and boil it all for 15 min. Add garlic and boil for 2 min, add 2/3 of the bunch of chopped cilantro, turn off the soup, and let it stay for 10 min covered. Discard meat bones and cut boiled meat in 1″ pieces, divide meat into 4 equal parts and put it in the bowl, pour the soup and serve it with freshly chopped cilantro and sour cream.

Tips:

* To  easily discard peppercorns, bay leaves, dill weed, wrap them in cheese cloth before you add them to soup, then, discard the bag after broth is made.

** To brown onion, put it into the frying pan without any oil, and fry it on high constantly stirring. Once it’s browned, add oil, reduce to low  and sauté until onion is tender.

Note: original recipe requires 2  potatoes (cut into cubes) boiled with cabbage. I excluded potatoes to cut on calories. Vegetarians can just boil cabbage and all other ingredients, and 5 min before soup is done add 2 tbsp of butter.

Borsch Beet Soup

Borsch – Beet Soup

Borsch – beet soup (~ 4 servings)
1 lbs – 7-blade steak
Cabbage – ¼ head
Beets – 3 medium
Tomatoes – 3 medium
Onion (sweet) – 1 & ½ medium size
Carrot – 1
1 tsp of lemon juice
Salt to taste (~3 tsp)
Bay leaves – 4
Peppercorns (black) – 2 tsp
Dill weed 2 tsp
1 whole root of parsley (optional, but it adds a very distinctive aroma to soup)
Vegetable oil2 tbsp
Ketchup – 1 cup
Garlic – 6 big cloves or 1 tbsp canned
Cilantro – 1 bunch
Boil meat in ~ 8-10 cups of water with 1 whole carrot , ½ onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and dill weed for an hour after it starts boiling. Discard onion, peppercorn, bay leaves, dill weed, parsley root, and carrot*, take the meat out. Meanwhile, sauté grated beets, finely chopped onion**, 1 cup of ketchup, and lemon juice (lemon juice keeps beets’ color) until beets are tender. Once beet mixture is done, add it to broth and add chopped tomatoes, shredded cabbage, 1 cup of ketchup, and boil it all for 15 min. Add garlic and boil for 2 min, add 2/3 of the bunch of chopped cilantro, turn off the soup, and let it stay for 10 min covered. Discard meat bones and cut boiled meat in 1″ pieces, divide meat into 4 equal parts and put it in the bowl, pour borsch and serve it with freshly chopped cilantro and sour cream.
Tips:
* To speed up grating beets, use food processor with grater, to easily discard peppercorns, bay leaves, dill weed, wrap them in cheese cloth before you add them to soup, then, discard the bag after broth is made.
** To brown onion, put it into the frying pan without any oil, and fry it on high constantly stirring. Once it’s browned, add oil, grated beets, and lemon juice and fry the mixture starting on high for 2 min, then reduce to low  and sauté until beets are tender.
Note: original recipe requires 2  potatoes (cut into cubes) boiled with cabbage. I excluded potatoes to cut on calories.

Fried cabbage and Smoked sausage

Fried Cabbage

Cabbage – 1 head (small/medium)

Tomatoes – 2

Salt – 2 tsp

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp

Smoked sausage – 2

Weed dill or cilantro fresh – optional

Fry finely chopped cabbage in 2 tbsp of oil for 7-10 min, add sausage and fry for another 2 min, add cut tomatoes and fry for another 5 min. You can choose any kind of weenies or sausage or you can cook it without any). You can garnish it with finely chopped fresh dill weed or cilantro. It can also be used a side dish without sausage.

Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup made of dry mushrooms

Mushroom soup made of baby Bella fresh mushrooms

Here's the blend of dry mushrooms I use

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

7 ½ cup water

2 ½ cup dry mushrooms (Gourmet Mushroom Blend  (Porcini, Morels, Brazilian, Ivory Portabellas, Shiitake, Oyster) – you can choose any other blend of mushrooms if you want to or substitute dry for fresh Baby Bella mushrooms – then use 16 oz and cut boiling to half of recommended time)

Salt – 2 tsp

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Dill weed – 2 tsp

Bay leaf – 4

Sweet onion – 1 and ¼ of medium

Butter – 2 tbsp

Potatoes – 2 medium **

Boil mushrooms with all the ingredients (use ¼ onion), except for potatoes and butter. Discard peppercorns, bay leaf, onion, and dill after mushrooms are done (boil for ~ 1 hr).

Meanwhile, finely chop 1 medium onion and brown it in a frying pan: *To brown onion, put it into the frying pan without any oil or butter, and fry it on high constantly stirring. Once it’s browned, add butter, reduce to low  and sauté until onion is tender ~ 1 min.

After mushrooms are done, cube 2 medium potatoes, add to mushrooms, and boil until potatoes are soft ~ 15-20 min. Add onion and butter. Serve it hot with sour cream.

**Note: You can substitute potatoes with egg vermicelli  ~ 1-1.5 cups and add vermicelli once mushrooms are done.

Mushrooms Julienned

Dry mushrooms – 2 cups of dry mushrooms or 12 oz of Baby Bella fresh mushrooms

Mushroom water (left from boiled mushrooms) -1 cup

Salt – 3 tsp

Flour – 1 and 1/2 tbsp

Butter – 4 tbsp

Sour cream – 4 tbsp

Sweet onion – 1 medium

Shredded cheddar cheese – 4 tbsp

Water – 4 cups

Boil mushrooms in water with salt added for 30 min. Meanwhile, fry finely chopped onion for 2-3 min on high, then ~ 10 min with 2 tbsp of butter. Add 2 tbsp of butter to a small frying pan and mix it on high with 1 and a half tbsp of flour, add 1 cup of mushroom water (left from mushrooms) and mix it until it thickens. Add mushrooms and fry it for 3 min with 2 tbsp of butter, add sour cream and stir it for another 2 min Put the mushrooms in small oven-proof cups (like Soufflé cups), add shredded cheese on top, and microwave it for 1 min. Serve immediately. You may keep them refrigerated and heat later in microwave.

Note: You can choose any kinds of mushrooms you like as well as cheese

Extra Thin Russian Bliny - Crepes

 Russian bliny are extremely thin, and the thinner the better. There’s a bunch of various recipes online, but this one is amazing – truly extra thin and fool proof – if you follow instructions, you’ll get paper-thin crepes – the best I ever tried. I guess the secret is eggs. To cut calories, I use 1% milk and water. I also measured the quantity very carefully and took some pics to illustrate my point. I use Kitchen Aid Mixer to make it easy, as you have to whisk very thoroughly to get smooth batter.

Extra Thin Russian Bliny – Crepes

Flour – 2 cups

Milk – 1 cup

Vegetable oil – ½ cup + 1/3 cup

Eggs – 6

Boiling water – 1+1/4 cup (Optional - you can add another 1/4 cup of water or milk to make it even thinner) 

Sugar – 3 tbsp

Salt – 2+1/2  tsp

You’ll get 15 crepes – extra thin Russian Bliny

Whisk together eggs, sugar, and salt. Add flour and stir with milk until smooth and well blended, add oil and continue stirring – the batter should be thin. You can also use mixer instead of whisking manually. When batter is ready, carefully pour 1 cup of boiling water along the edge of the mixing bowl.

Pour 1/3 cup of oil in a small bowl, cut a half of a small potato or onion, pick it with a fork and keep handy to oil the skillet. You can also use any brush to spread oil in the pan. 

Heat a non-sticking skillet/frying pan, oil it with the oiled potato/onion, pour ~ 1 ladle of batter, tilt the pan so that batter covers all the bottom of 9” pan. (If you prefer, you can use crepe spreader). When the edges look crisp and the center looks dry, flip the blin carefully with a spatula and cook ~ 1 min until lightly browned.

Remove blini to a plate, put a little butter on top, and continue to stack blini on top of each other.

To serve, put a stack of blini in the middle of the table and arrange any desired fillings in bowls.

Put one blin on the plate, fill its middle with desired filling, and wrap it like a burrito in an envelope. Enjoy.

Regular fillings for blini are preserves, sour cream, ground meat fried with finely chopped onions, cottage cheese with sour cream and preserves, honey, lox or smoked salmon, caviar – choose anything you like and use your imagination.

Pierogi (Pot Pies), Pierozhki (Hot Pockets)

Pierogui (Pot pie) or Pierozhki (Hot Pockets)

Dough:

Ingredients:

Yeast – 2 envelopes (1/4 oz ea)

Water – 1/2 cup

Milk – 1 +1/2 cup

Egg – 1 + 1 for brushing

Vegetable oil – 1/2 cup

Butter – 4 tbsp + 3 tbsp for brushing

Salt 3 tsp

All-purpose flour – 6 cups

Add yeast to warm water, add 2 tbsp sugar, let it sit for 10 min. Warm milk for 1 min on high in microwave, add 1 egg, butter (melt for 20 sec in microwave), 3 tsp salt, flour and yeast mixture. Leave the mixture for 2 hrs in a warm place (I usually put it in the oven – it isn’t on). Once dough rises, put it in a mixer bowl and knead with dough hook for 20 min. If you don’t have a mixer, knead manually for 20 min. Note: Dough will be far better if you leave it (after kneading) in bowl covered with kitchen towel for another 2 hrs – it’ll rise again, then knead it for 20 min more.

Cut the dough into small pieces, place it on a slightly floured surface, flatten it with a rolling pin, cut a circle*, put 1 tbsp of the filling of your choice in the middle, press edges and seal it tightly. It looks like a hot pocket. To save time, I sometimes form a rectangular, cut it into 4×4″ and after I put the filling, tear off extra dough. Put these “pierozhki” (hot pockets) on a greased baking pan spacing them as when baking, they’ll increase size, and brush each with a mixture of 4 tbsp and 1 egg. Let it sit for 20 min. Preheat oven to 420 F and bake for 15 min, lower heat to 350F and bake another 10 min  until the color turns golden brown. Take the baking pan out, cover with a dish towel and let it sit for 20 min – that’ll make it juicier. We call these small hot pockets – pierozhki (plural) or pierozhok (singular).

You can also choose a rectangular, square, or round baking dish, though in Russia people use only big rectangular pans. Grease pan with butter, divide dough into 2 equal parts, flatten each with a rolling pan customizing it to the shape of the baking dish. Place one piece of dough on the bottom of the pan, add filling of your choice, and cover it with the 2nd piece of flat dough. Brush the upper crust with the mixture of egg and butter, let it sit for 20 min. and bake at 420F for 15 min and 10 min at 350F until the color turns golden brown. It resembles quiche, though dough tastes different.

You can use a variety of fillings, like spinach, cheeses, etc. Here, I’ll suggest most typical fillings for Russian cuisine. I won’t suggest to try all fillings at the same time. Choose one; otherwise, it’ll be too time consuming.

Fillings:

Green Onion with Boiled Eggs

Take a bunch of green onions, cut off white ends, and finely chop the green part. Finely chop 1 boiled egg. Sear onion on high with 1 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp of salt, so that it’s soft but retains color. Add egg, and mix it.

Cabbage and Onion

Finely chop 1 small cabbage or 1/2 of a big one. Fry finely chopped sweet onion until it’s light brown with 1 tbsp of butter, in another pan sauté cabbage with 1 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp of salt, mix cabbage and onions, add 5 finely chopped boiled eggs.

Mushroom Filling

Fry 1 sweet onion in 1 tbsp of butter. Boil mushrooms (I use Baby Bella – 12 oz) for 15 min, discard water, chop/slice mushroom (I use food processor and slice it), add mushrooms to onion and fry the mixture with 2 tsp of salt. You may also add 3 chopped boiled eggs (optional).

Ground Meat and Onions Filling

Fry 1 sweet onion and 1 lbs of ground meat in 1 tbsp of butter with 2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of black pepper.

My family prefers meat filling, though you can use your imagination and come up with any kind. For example, another favorite (though not Russian, but American) - BBQ-ed pulled pork

*To speed up cutting dough, you can buy a dough cutter or use any dish with round edges. I'm using a bowl for cereal 5 3/4 inch in diameter. You can also cut a flatten sheet of dough into squares and after you add filling, seal it and tear off any extra dough.

Beef & Onions Russian Style

Ingredients:

Beef Loin Top Sirloin Steak, boneless – 2 lbs

Onion – 1 sweet (large)

Water – 1 cup

Salt – 2 tsp

Mayonnaise – 1 cup

Cut meat in 2″ square pieces, add salt and mix it, put it in fire-proof dish, cut onion in thin slices, put it on top of the meat, pour 1 cup of water and cover it all with mayonnaise – try to seal the meat with mayonnaise. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and bake it for 1 hr. Serve immediately with potatoes any style.

Beef and Potatoes Russian Style Baked in Clay Fire-Proof Pots

Beef & Potatoes Baked in Clay Pots Russian Style

Ingredients:

Beef Loin Top Sirloin Steak, boneless – 2 lbs

Onion – 1 sweet (large)

Butter – 2 tbsp

Potato – 4 medium baked potatoes

Water – 1 + 1/2 cup

Salt – 3 tsp

Sour Cream – 16 tbsp

Shredded cheddar cheese – 4 tbsp

You’ll also need 4 fire-proof clay pots (medium size)

Fry finely chopped onion for 2 min in a frying pan, cut meat(trim all fat)  in cubes, add salt (1 + 1/2 tsp) and pepper, mix it, and add to onions, add 2 tbsp of butter, fry on high for another 2 min, and 10 min on low. Meanwhile, peel and cube potatoes, put it in a microwave-safe dish, add 1 +1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 cup of water and microwave on high for 15 min.

Divide meat and onions into 4 equal parts and put it on the bottom of the pot. Divide potatoes into 4 equal parts and put it on top of the meat. Add 1/4 cup of water into each pot, top it with sour cream – 4 tbsp per each pot. Bake it in the oven for 30 min at 350 F. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake it for another 5 min. Cover the pots with lids and let sit for 10 min. Finally, it’s ready to serve.

Golubtsy - Cabbage Rolls

Golubtsy - Cabbage Rolls

There are lots of recipes for cabbage rolls. Some add rice to meat and use tomato paste instead of ketchup. Some fry onions with tomato paste and add grated carrots. Since I’m trying to cut calories from every recipe, as Russian cuisine is pretty rich as other European cuisines, I don’t use rice or carrots, though I prefer ketchup to tomato paste, as it adds sweetness to the dish.

Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage – 1 head

Ground beef – 1.5 lbs

Egg – 1

Onion – 2 big (sweet)

Ketchup – 2 cups

Salt – 2 tsp

Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp

Sour cream – optional for serving

Boil cabbage, take the center out and divide into leaves. Leave 3 cups cabbage liquid.

Mix meat with salt, pepper, egg, finely chopped onion (1), and ketchup (1 cup)

Add the mixture into the center of a cabbage leaf, roll the cabbage leaf, repeat until you are out of meat, put the rolls in a pan, add 3 cups of cabbage liquid (left over from cabbage boiling), and boil for 1 hr. If you have any cabbage left, you may add it on top of cabbage rolls. Meanwhile, fry 1 finely chopped onion without oil on high for 5 min, add 1 cup of ketchup and sauté with ketchup until soft (~ 15 min). After cabbage rolls have been boiling for an hour, add onions with ketchup to cabbage rolls and boil another 30 min. Serve with sour cream (optional)

Pelmeni (ravioli with Meat Filling)

Pelmeni/Ravioli with meat Filling

Russian Pelmeni (Ravioli with meat filling)

My recipe makes 40 pelmeni – 5 per serving (total 8 servings)

Ingredients:

Dough – it’s the same as for ravioli:

All-purpose flour – 3 cups

Eggs – 3 large

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 3/4 cup

Filling:

Pork loin  - 1/2 lbs

Ground beef – 1/2 lbs

Salt – 1 + 1/2 tsp

Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Onion – 1 medium sweet

Beat eggs, oil, salt, and water, add 3/4 of flour, knead (long time), wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 30 min. To save time, I use Kitchen Aid mixer and dough hook and mix for at least 20 min on slow, then refrigerate for 30 min.

Meanwhile, cut pork in small pieces and ground it, add finely chop onion, salt and pepper, and mix it all thoroughly.

Take the dough, place it on lightly floured surface, knead it until it’s elastic (if you used Kitchen Aid mixer, you don’t need to knead for long), divide dough into ~ 5 parts, and roll each with a rolling pin as thinly as possible. Take a 3″ glass, and cut the dough into discs. It’s easier if you work with each piece of dough separately. Put the meat filling in the center of each dough disc – 1 tbsp per each. Take each disc, fold it in half (half-moon shape) and pinch the edges to seal dough around the meat. Don’t let pelmeni touch each other, keep them all on floured surface or on wax paper.

When you’re ready, boil water in a large pot, add 2 tsp of salt per 1.5 liter, put pelmeni into boiling water, and boil for 10 min.

Serve pelmeni in a bowl adding 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tsp of white/cider vinegar. You can also serve them with sour cream.

If you don’t want to cook all pelmeni, you can freeze them till further use.

Russian Cuisine Basics

Russian Cuisine Basics

Beef stock is cooked the same way for soups like borsch or schii:

Beef Stock for Russian soups

1 lb – 7-blade steak

Onion (sweet) –  ½ (medium size)

Carrot – 1

Salt to taste (~3 tsp)

Bay leaves ~ 4

Peppercorns (black) ~ 2 tsp

Dill weed – 2 tsp

1 whole root of parsley (optional, but it adds a very distinctive aroma to soup)

Boil meat in ~ 8-10 cups of water with 1 whole carrot , ½ onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and dill weed for an hour after it starts boiling. Discard onion, peppercorn, bay leaves, dill weed, parsley root, and carrot*, take the meat out.

Shredding Cabbage

To shred cabbage, cut of a bit of cabbage head on the side, keep knife flat close to the side of cabbage head and start slicing cabbage along the length trying to make slices very fine. After slicing/shredding, you can chop cabbage.

To cut vegetables for soups, make 1/4″ cubes – It’s easily achieved by first slicing potato lengthwise, and then turn it and repeat. As a result, cut pieces will be neat cubes.


*You can use cheesecloth for spices or a reusable bag for spices. You can buy these reusable bags in Bed, Bath, and Beyond (see pic)