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Draniki

 Draniki – thin and round potato pancakes, are often pan-fried and served with sour cream. The word ‘draniki’ originates from the verb ‘drat’ (soft t), which means grate, rub. It was originally a common breakfast, and today we stick with this tradition, but in some restaurants it’s served all day long. Draniki are so beloved and popular in our country, that not even every Russian knows, that it is Belarus dish.
 Potato was brought to Russia in the end of 17th century, when it was served as an exotic dish only at royal banquets, and potatoes were sprinkle with sugar, not salt and pepper as nowadays. At that time in Belarus, potato had been known for 80 years. Today potato became the main vegetable in Belarus, and now over 200 potato dishes are known.
  Similar potato pancakes can be found in many countries, like hash browns in the USA, kartoffelpuffer in Germany, Swiss rösti, or Jewish latkes, and etc.
Draniki
 This is a simple recipe that is easy to prepare and produces great results! 🙂 Enjoy!

Draniki - Russian potato pancakes

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
4 large potatoes
1 egg
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2-3 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
a good pinch of salt
a good pinch of pepper
2-3 Tbsp sunflower oil, for frying
sour cream, for serving
Preparation
  • Peel potatoes and grate (using medium or large holes of a box grater), transferring to a bowl of water. Soak potatoes for 10-15 minutes, then drain well in a colander, and squeeze grated potatoes with hand, extracting as much liquid as possible.
  • Transfer potatoes back to a bowl and stir in egg, salt, pepper and dill. Add flour and mix until well-coated. The mixture should be wet and thick (not soupy!).
  • In a heavy-based or iron skillet heat the oil until hot, but not smoking.  Place the large spoonfuls of the mixture into pan, pressing down and spreading into cm/inch rounds with a fork or spoon. Reduce heat to moderate. Brown draniki on one side about 5 minutes, turn over and brown on the other. Let drain on a paper towels.
  • Serve warm with sour cream or raw.
  • Draniki are also good with creme fraiche, herb cream cheese and ricotta.
The remaining draniki can be kept in a refrigerator up to one day. Reheat in a 160C/320F oven, about 10 minutes.
Russian Draniki

Middle Eastern Salmon steaks

 Salmon is a very popular fish in Russia. We pan-fry and roast it, make delicious cured salmon, pies, like worldwide famous Koulebyaka. Less fatty varieties, such as pink and hunchback are well-known and in high demand, they are less expensive, but still good and healthy choice. As you may know, such fish is an excellent sauce of Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A and B. 🙂
 My husband and I love salmon and are always trying to find new ways to prepare it. The below recipe requires about 30 minutes and is guaranteed to please family or friends. It is simply amazing recipe, rich salmon, coated in aromatic Middle Eastern spices. 
Middle Eastern Salmon

Middle Eastern Salmon steaks

  • Servings: 2
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Ingredients
2 salmon steaks
2 round lemon slices
1 tsp whole white peppercorns, crushed
1-2 tsp coarse sea salt, crushed
2 tsp zaatar*
2 tsp sumac
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 
*Make your own zaatar: 2Tbsp thyme+2Tbsp oregano+2Tbsp sesame seeds+1Tbsp sumac+1/2tsp ground cumin+1/2tsp salt
 
Preparation
  • Rub salmon steaks evenly with salt, white pepper and sumac. Place fish on a baking tray (you may line it with baking paper), drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Leave to marinate for 10-20 minutes. 
  • Preheat the oven 180C/ F. Sprinkle zaatar and sesame seeds over steaks; top with lemon slices. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
  • For the side dish, you can roast some potatoes, turnips or carrots along with salmon. Cut veggies into thin slices, sprinkle with salt, pepper, sesame seeds and olive oil. Potatoes usually need more time to be cooked, so you may parboil them before.
Bon appetite! 
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Delicious roasted carrots
Top with zaatar and sesame
Aromatic carrot!
Healthy&Delish

Refreshing Sangria

 If you have such a hot summer as I do here (around 45C), you need a good refreshing cocktail to cool you off on a weekend.
 What about Sangria? It is a type of punch from Spain and Portugal, which is served during summer and in some parts of the countries year-round. 😀 Sangria is made from wine, fresh chopped fruit and sweetener, with an occasional addition of brandy (or vodka, rum, soda may be added). Sangria is named after the word ‘bleeding’ for its bold red color. Now it’s very popular party drink around the world.
 I’m bringing this pitcher, full of nicely spiced Sangria to Angie@Thenovicegardener party! The recipe is easy to multiply for crowds. Yahoo! A little party never killed nobody! 😀
Sangria-6

Refreshing Sangria

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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A classic sangria of red wine and fresh fruits that’s easy to make ahead of time for outdoor gatherings.
Ingredients:
1-750ml bottle red wine, Rioja/Cabernet Sauvignon/Burgundy
200ml brandy
400-500ml  freshly squeezed orange juice
120ml/1/2 cup water
90g/1/2 cup sugar
1 large cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 large orange
1 lemon
2 large apples
150g/1 1/2 cups seedless dark grapes
Ice cubes, for serving
Lemon or orange wheels, for garnish
500-700ml orange juice or sparkling water, for serving, optionally
Instructions:
  • In a small saucepan,  mix water, sugar and spices. Bring to boil and simmer the syrup over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Cool completely. Such syrup is called simple syrup.
  • Cut orange, lemon and apples into wedges; cut some grapes into halves.
  • In a large pitcher, combine the wine, brandy, juice and simple syrup. Add all of the fruit and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled and all the flavours are melded, about 2-3 hours, or better overnight.
  • When sangria is ready, add some ice into the pitcher and stir to combine.
  • Serve over ice in a cocktail or wine glass; garnish with some of the soaked fruit and orange wheels. You can top with the desired amount of orange juice or sparkling water, if using.

ENJOY! ❤
Let’s sip it!
Super-refreshing drink
Great cocktail for outdoors
Sunny oranges
Sangria

Salad with sauteed vegetables

 I want to thank all for your lovely comments on my previous post!
What’s the weather in your country? What do you do to stay chilled? Hiding at home, eating ice cream all days long or chilling near the swimming pool with a cocktail..;) In Dubai almost everybody is hiding inside houses, malls.. Moreover, it’s Ramadan, to drink or eat in public is prohibited until the sunset.
I’m trying to eat more balanced and healthful meal this month, like the below salad. It’s summery and..just eat the salad, man! 😀

Veg salad-1

Salad with sauteed vegetables

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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Aromatic herbs make it so good and appetizing! Eat as is or with grilled sausages.
Ingredients:
2 zucchini/6-7 baby/~600g
2 medium apples, juicy and sour
6 cherry-tomatoes or 1 large tomato
1 red onion
1 clove of garlic, smashed
zest and juice of half lemon
1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 dried
2-3 Tbsp parsley/coriander/mint, finely chopped
salt, white pepper to taste
1-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Cut the onion and slice into half moons. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onion until tender.
  • Chop the tomato and apples, add to the pan along with garlic and thyme, mix and sauté for 2-3 minutes more. Discard the garlic, put the vegetable mixture in a bowl, set aside and keep in a warm place.
  • Slice zucchini, add it to the frying pan along with lemon zest and sauté on a medium hit until tender. Add more oil if needed.
  • Add the veg mixture into zucchini, mix and heat for 1-2 minutes.
  • Put all the veggies in a big serving bowl, add mint and/or parsley, salt&pepper and squeeze lemon juice. Drizzle some extra olive oil over the salad, if desired.
Enjoy!
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Veg salad-3

Syrniki

 Syrniki are fried pancakes, which are made from cottage cheese and traditionally garnished with a sour cream. They are very popular and widely-cooked not only in Russia, also in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland. The word ‘syrniki’ is derived from Russian word ‘syr’ which means cheese.
 The main ingredients are cottage cheese, flour, eggs, sugar, sometimes raisins and vanilla. Commonly syrniki are eaten for freakfast, but could be served as a dessert.
 You can find a great variety of syrniki recipes, in one you should add one egg, in another three, in third just few spoons of flour or semolina flour, and etc. Finally, it doesn’t matter which recipe you’re using, just adjust it to suit your own taste.
TIPS:
Flour and sugar. One adds only few tablespoons of flour, in such option, might be difficult to shape syrniki and turn them over during frying, as they will be soft, but at the same time tender and creamy. Amount of sugar is totally depends on your preferences.
Filling. Raisins and vanilla are most popular ingredients for the syrniki filling, but you can go further – add cinnamon, dried apricots, plums or cherries, lemon or orange zest.
Dressing. Sour cream, jam and sweet condensed milk are the most favourite toppings for syrniki. If you neither like the one nor the other, make berry or chocolate sauce, or just dust it with icing sugar, or pour over some honey, add dulce de leche…
Syrniki-2
You can fry syrniki on a moderate heat in a frying pan for 5 minutes on each site or until golden-brown (using few tablespoons of sunflower oil). I propose you the recipe of an oven-baked syrniki, which is much better and healthier, as you don’t need to use oil.

Russian Syrniki

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:
Cottage cheese, 500g
Eggs, 2
Sugar, 2-4 Tbsp
Flour, 50-80g
a pinch of salt
Semolina, 2 Tbsp
Vanilla sugar or extract, 1 tsp, optional
Raisins/sultanas, 50g
Preparation:
  1. In a small bowl or mug, put raisins, cover with warm water and let it soak, meanwhile you do all below steps. Optionally, you can add a tablespoon of cognac, brandy or rum along with water for an extra flavor. Then pour the water out and wipe raisins.
  2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla together and beat well until pale color (use hand whisk or electric mixer).
  3. Add flour, semolina, salt, raisins, and combine well.
  4. Shape beautiful syrniki -about 5cm/2inch in diameter and 1cm/0.5inch wide.
  5. Arrange syrniki on a greased baking tray and bake in preheated 200C/400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until nice golden color.
  6. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream.
  7. You can keep all remaining syrniki in a fridge, and reheat them next morning.

Syrniki are so delicious that I could eat them every other morning. Cooking of syrniki is highly recommended as alternative to regular pancakes! 🙂

Enjoy! ❤

Syrniki-1

Syrniki-4

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