Tag Archives: holiday

Russian Winter Salad (Olivier salad)

This salad is a traditional dish in Russian cuisine, and most of the time it is associated with New Year celebration, when it’s always served on a festive table along with another popular salad – “shuba”.

The very first and original version of this salad was invented in the beginning of 1860s by chef Lucien Olivier, who was the owner of the renowned Moscow restaurant “Hermitage”. “Olivier Salad” quickly became popular among restaurant visitors, the salad brought him a great fame and became the signature dish. The recipe and especially the dressing was kept in a big secret, and unfortunately the fact is that the exact recipe is still unknown. But according to some notes, it’s known that the salad contained hazel grouse, veal tongue, black caviar, fresh salad leaves, crayfishes or lobster, some pickled, fresh cucumbers, capers and boiled eggs. And the secret dressing was prepared from fresh raw eggs, some secret herbs and olive oil.

As you can see, all ingredients were posh and expensive. So, lately during Soviet time, these fine ingredients were replaced by cheap and widely-available, like boiled kolbasa (bologna sausage) or meat, boiled potatoes and carrots, pickled cucumbers and peas, dressed with store-bought mayonnaise instead of home-made French dressing. Such simple and nourishing salad was widely-popular, and soon it became a staple and traditional dish of Soviet holiday dinner, and particularly of New Year’s Eve. Lately, it’s even got a second name – “Winter Salad”. Beyond Russia this salad is often called as “Russian Salad”.

Nowadays, the salad is still a traditional part of New Year celebration, but there are lots of versions – with boiled beef or chicken, beef tongue, fish and caviar, fresh or pickled cucumbers and so on. My recipe is a common version of the Winter Salad – with boiled beef, pickled cucumbers and mayonnaise. It’s a little bit on a dark/unhealthy side of my diet 😀 but consuming it on the holiday dinner is also a part of Russian tradition, so eating it once a year don’t make anyone fat. 🙂 Enjoy!

Russian winter salad (Olivier salad)

Servings: approx 8
Time: 2hr
Difficulty: easy
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You can garnish the salad with some peas and chopped dill or parsley.

*Add more cucumbers if using small gherkins.

Ingredients

350g beef (one whole piece, without any bones)

300g/ 2 large potatoes

1 large or 2 medium carrot

4 medium eggs

4 medium pickled cucumbers*

1/2 medium brown onion

1 can of green pea

mayonnaise, to taste

salt, to taste, optional

Method

In a pan, put meat and cover with cold water, bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 50 minutes or until meat is ready. Completely cool and cut the meat into small cubes (about 1 cm).
In another large pan, put potatoes and carrot in their skin, cover with water, bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until veggies are soft. Cool, peel and cut into small cubes (about 1 cm).
In another pan, hard-boil eggs. Also cut into cubes.
Finely chop the onion, put in a bowl, drizzle with some apple vinegar and cover with hot water. Leave for 15 minutes, then drain.
Also cut the cucumbers into small cubes.
In a large serving bowl, add all ingredients along with drained peas. Dress with mayo to suit your own taste.

You can keep the undressed salad in the fridge up to 2-3 days.

Enjoy Russian Winter Salad!

Sunday Breakfast

I think, breakfast is one of the most important meal of the day. I never miss breakfast; even if I woke up at 12 or 1pm – I prefer to eat something from breakfast category whether it’s mushroom kasha or sweet pancakes.

I know that lots of people skip breakfast or have only coffee and sort of to-go bar; some say they are not hungry enough, or another reasons are lack of time or motivation. But eating breakfast can help you to wake up, to boost your energy and metabolism. Moreover, experts say that people who eat breakfast tend to have a lower risk of many health issues. Breakfast should be around 30% daily calories intake. So, skipping the breakfast leading to seek out higher calorie food later in the day.

Thus, I decided to start a series of ‘Sunday Breakfast’. Why breakfast? – that you’ve read above. Why Sunday? – because it’s usually weekend, no need to hurry – you’ve got plenty of time to prepare any breakfast you/your family like. I’m going to post breakfast recipes that I’m cooking and enjoying. And I’d be more than happy if you share with me your breakfast ideas and recipes; if you decided to take part in this series – send me links to your posts or articles in the internet with your favourite morning meal. You can also write recipes and send me by email, so I could choose a suitable for me and taste them.

Let’s begin a healthy way to start the day, especially if you haven’t had a breakfast for a long time!

I’m quite sure that almost everyone loves zucchini fritters. We call them oladii/oladushki in Russia, that means small pancakes (have a look another recipe by clicking here). These zucchini oladushki are more healthier, because I used fine oats instead of plain flour and fried them almost without oil. As you can see from the photos: they are served with fried quail eggs, which can be substitute with regular ones; herbs add a nice and aromatic touch – to wake up your senses!

Zucchini oladushki with fried quail eggs

Sunday Breakfast: Zucchini Oladushki

Servings: 2
Difficulty: easy
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*I didn’t use salt, because I used parmesan which is salty itself, but you can add some salt if needed.

**If zucchini oladushki don’t stick to your frying pan- omit the oil.

Ingredients

1 large zucchini, grated

few spoons of fine oats (or wholemeal flour)

*3-4 tbsp grated parmesan

3 quail eggs or 1 regular egg for the zucchini mixture

2 tsp lemon juice, optional

2-3 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

freshly ground black pepper to taste

**1-2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil for frying

quail eggs for serving, as much as you like

some grated parmesan for garnish, optional

In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except oil. Heat the oil (if using) in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Using a tablespoon pour a spoonful of the mixture into pan, making oladushki/fritters, fry for a 2 minutes on each side.
Keep zucchini oladushki in a warm place: put them in warm 50C oven or cover with foil. Meanwhile, fry quail eggs (you may use the same pan).
Top oladushki with fried quail eggs, sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

Enjoy your breakfast!

Salad “Tashkent”

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan, one of the former USSR countries. According to one version this salad was created in Moscow during USSR times, when Soviet government set the task to popularize the various national cuisines of the Soviet Union. Due to a very limited availability of the ingredients in most parts of the USSR, Soviet cuisine can be characterized as simple. So, the salad also had to be simple, tasty and nourishing. Another version says that the salad was created by chef of the “Tashkent” restaurant in Moscow, where it also was served for the first time.

Main ingredients are boiled beef and green radish, sounds simple but believe me the salad will be very tasty! Unhealthy side is dressing, because it’s mayonnaise. So, I suggest to make and eat this salad during weekend, or serve it for a special occasion and everyone will certainly be in awe. 😉 You can also substitute mayo with sour cream, but the taste will be slightly different. Another option for dressing is flavorful sunflower oil, that sometimes mixed with a teaspoon of vinegar. Chose the option and enjoy the salad!

Servings: 4
Time: 1hr 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

400-500g beef fillet

800-900g green radish (I used daikon/Chinese white radish)

4 eggs, hard-boiled

1 large brown onion

2 tbsp sunflower oil for frying

100-150g mayonnaise for dressing (or sour cream/sunflower oil)

fresh chopped coriander or parsely for serving, optional

pomegranate seeds for serving, optional

salt, black pepper to taste

Preparation

In a large pan, put the raw meat, cover with cold water, season with salt. Bring to boil, remove the foam, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 50-60 minutes. Optionally, you can add few peppercorns, bay leaf, small onion to get aromatic stock which you can use later. Cool the meat, then cut into julienne (thin strips).
Cut eggs into thin strips. Optionally, instead of cutting eggs into strips you can cut them into 4 wedges and garnish the salad.
Cut radish into julienne. Sprinkle radish with salt and let stand for 15 minutes, drain the liquid. If you are using green radish, cover it with cold water and leave for 1 hour to get rid of bitterness; then drain the water.
Thinly slice the onion into half-moon. Heat the oil and fry the onion until golden-brown.
In a large serving bowl, mix radish with onion, add beef, season with salt and pepper. Carefully stir in eggs and dress with mayonnaise. Garnish with coriander/parsley and pomegranate seeds.

Sharing at lovely Fiesta Friday party by Angie, and co-hosts this time Jhuls and Laurie.

Braised Rabbit with red wine, prunes and thyme

I’m sure you know that Easter is on the way (Catholic falls on April 5 and Orthodox April 12), and you’re probably planning what to cook, or searching your notes with traditional recipes. I think some of you have a special main course recipe for this occasion, or may be it’s a wide range of recipes. What will you choose this year? An elegant dish or simple&casual? I think, with spring bringing nice and pretty weather, that you’re likely to be in the mood for something hearty and light! 🙂 I’ve always been partial to rabbit; when I’m visiting my parents in Russia I’m always pleased to eat a rabbit stewed in sour cream. It’s always tender and delicious, of course because it’s prepared by my mom. 😀 Today recipe is elegant and great for a special dinner! I’d like you to try rabbit with prunes and thyme, braised in red wine. It requires few ingredients to be transformed into a flavoursome meal! Enjoy!

Braised Rabbit with red wine, prunes and thyme

Servings: 3-4
Time: 2hr
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

1 rabbit, 1.3-1.5kg

water

1-2 tsp apple or wine vinegar, optional

2 tbsp olive oil

20g butter

1-2 garlic clove, peeled, chopped

5-6 shallots or 1 onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

4 black peppercorns, optional

4-5 juniper berries

12-15 prunes, pitted

4 springs thyme or 1 tsp dried

150ml dry red wine

100ml or more hot water, if needed

sea salt and white pepper to taste

Garnish

boiled or roasted potatoes

sour cream

Preparation method

Joint the rabbit, wash it and put in a large bowl, fully cover the meat with water, add vinegar if using, then cover with a wrap and leave to marinate for 1-3 hours. It helps to make rabbit meat more tender and get rid of any unpleasant smell.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottom pan on a medium-high heat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown each side for 6-8 minutes or until golden colour. Take out the rabbit pieces and place aside. Don’t clean the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium, add onions, garlic, peppercorns (if using), juniper berries, bay leaf, some thyme leaves and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until onion have softened. Add rabbit, pour over wine and scrape up the bottom of the pan. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.
Fold in prunes and remaining thyme. Season to taste. The liquid should come half way up the rabbit pieces. So, add some water, if needed. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid (keep a small slit) and braise the rabbit for 45 minutes. Now turn the rabbit pieces on the other side, adjust the seasoning, again cover the pan with a lid and braise for further 40-45 minutes. The rabbit should be easily pulling off the bone.
Serve with sliced boiled/roasted potatoes, or rice. Add a tablespoon of sour creme, if desired.

Kumquat preserve

Hi there! First of all, I’d like to say Happy belated Easter to all who celebrated it, hope you had a really great, joyful and warm holiday!
I’ve been out of bloogging for some time, because my sister visited me and I didn’t have free time to post; we were walking, swimming, shopping and chating all days long. We meet really rarely – one or two times a year, and I miss her all the time..

Thus I didn’t prepare anything for the Easter this time, but I’ve got a great recipe of the citrus preserve! It is the unusual one, because made out of kumquats!

I do like kumquats, that sometimes to treat myself I’m buying a kilo and eat them alone. 😀 Just joking. I have never seen any kumquat jams in stores, and if you like it’s citrus bitterness – go for it!

Kumquat preserve

Servings: 2 jars
Difficulty: easy
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Such homemade preserve makes a great gift for family or friends.

Ingredients:

500g firm kumquats, cleaned and sliced

400g white sugar

120ml water

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

In a saucepan, put sugar, water and spices, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Add kumquats.
Bring the ingredients to boil.
Then switch off the heat, remove the saucepan from the hob and set aside to cool.
After 1 hour return the saucepan to the medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Repeat the step #5 and #4 two more times.
Pour the preserve into prepared hot sterilized jars and seal, or eat it straight away.