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Knyshy

One day I was watching numerous foody videos.. among those millions just one stuck in my head. Russian cook (don’t know his name) made small pies with potato filling, which he called knyshy. Pirogki with potato mash are one of my favourite, they always bring back memories about parents’ home ..kitchen, my mother is making pies, me and my sister are impatiently sitting and waiting while pirogki are baking in the oven.. Sweet time!

The difference between these pies and regular Russian pirogki is in the dough and shape, first ones are round, second are oval and usually made from yeast dough. I browse the Internet, and found not much information about these little pies. According to different sources, knyshy belong whether to old-Russian or Belarusian cuisine. In 19th century knyshy were widely-eaten pies among middle-class people, and the most popular filling was buckwheat kasha with fried onion and bacon.

It took me some time to shape them and make look like small barrels filled with tasty potato mash instead of rum (or whatever you imagine when hear barrel), but knyshy turned out beautifully and puffy, so they definitely worth all the hard work.

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Knyshy - little pies with potato filling

Servings: 16 pies
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

Dough:

1 egg

120ml sunflower oil

120ml warm water

1 tsp vinegar

400g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

600-700g potatoes

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp oil+ 1 tsp butter for frying

1 tbsp butter

some chopped dill, optional

salt, pepper to taste

Egg wash

1 egg, beaten

Method

In a bowl whisk egg with oil, water and vinegar.
Sift flour with salt and baking powder into another large bowl.
Pour the egg mixture into the bowl with flour. Mix all ingredients together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a frying pan heat oil with butter, add onion and fry until lightly golden. Clean and peel potatoes, cut into medium chunks and boil until ready, drain. Using a potato masher blend butter into potatoes until soft. Mix in fried onion and dill, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface roll out one part into 30x40cm rectangle. Spread half of the filling near the edge of the longest rectangle side. Make the roll. Cut the roll into 8 pieces: 5cm width each.* Carefully seal the ‘hole’ on one side, shaping into a roundish form (like a small barrel), place pie sealed side down on a lined and greased baking sheet. Repeat with all pies.
Brush all pies with egg wash. Bake in preheated 190C oven for 40 minutes.

*You may cut the roll into smaller pieces to get more but small-sized pies.

Enjoy!

Buckwheat pancakes with pike caviar

Good morning! I guess, pancakes is the most wanted breakfast on Earth. 😀 No matter how you call them in your country, whether you like thick or thin pancakes, sweet or savory – they are all delicious! Today, I’d like to share the recipe of Russian buckwheat oladushki (small pancakes). In Russia we like buckwheat grain and consume it in enormous amounts; it is not only the tasty grain but also very healthy (it contains no gluten, and a good source of protein). So buckwheat flour is also popular and widely-used in preparation of various pancakes, vareniki or cakes.

The flour is a bit heavy itself, plus I used wholegrain one, and as you can see from the photos: my pancakes turned out not very thick. But if you like them thicker and fluffier, add less buckwheat and more plain flour.

These pretty dark and so-healthy pancakes go great with a dollop of fresh sour cream and slice of homemade cured salmon! I brought a can of pike caviar from Russia, and garnished pancaked with it. It’s not very salty and suits perfectly here. Of course I understand that it’s not easy to get pike caviar (at least find it Russian store), but you can substitute it with salmon or any other fish caviar you like, or a thin slice of smoked salmon is another awesome option.

Buckwheat pancakes with pike caviar

Ingredients

100g buckwheat flour (I used organic wholegrain)

100g plain flour

1 egg

200g sour cream (20% fat)

3 tbsp full-fat milk

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1/3 tsp baking soda

1/3 tsp salt

sunflower oil, for frying

Garnish

sour cream

pike caviar (sub it with salmon caviar or cured salmon slices)

chopped chive, optional

Method

In a large bowl, whisk egg with salt, milk, sour cream and oil. Sift plain flour, add buckwheat flour and soda. Mix all ingredients to combine.
Heat a frying pan or skillet of a high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil, if needed. Using a ladle or cup, drop some batter on a pan until desires size of pancake is reached (I made 7-8cm). Cook until edges begin to look dry and bubbles start to form, about 1 minute. Then flip the pancakes and cook 1-2 minutes more on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, top with a few teaspoons of caviar and sprinkle with chive if desired.

Enjoy Russian Breakfast!

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!

Summer Salad with strawberry

I’ve been preparing and eating salads at home almost every day. I can have a salad as a light dinner, or snack during the day. Salads is classic and great way to calm down raging appetite instead of eating various high-calories snacks. This salad is all about summer: refreshing and light, bright and tasty. Perfect food for hot summer days!

Summer Salad with strawberry

Servings: 2
Difficulty: easy
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Next time I’ll add some sliced almonds for the crunchy note.

You can use arugula instead of spinach.

Tangerine has a sweet-tart taste, you can sub it with orange or clementine.

Ingredients

baby spinach, as much as you want

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

5-7 strawberries, sliced

1-2 tangerine

2-3 radishes, thinly sliced

some chopped fennel fronds for garnish, optional

Dressing

zest of one tangerine

1-2 tsp finely chopped mint

1 tsp runny honey

1 tbsp lemon or lime juice, or more if needed

1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt, freshly ground white pepper to taste

Preparation

Wash spinach, let it dry, arrange onto a serving plate.
Cut peel from tangerine. Using a knife to cut out the segments, letting them fall into a bowl along with the juice.
Add strawberries, fennel, tangerine segments and radish to the spinach. Toss together gently.
For the dressing, in a small bowl, combine all ingredients, stir well, adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste. Pour over the salad.
Garnish with chopped fennel, if using.

Enjoy!

Summer salad with strawberries, tangerine and fennel

Kisel – Russian sweet drink

Kisel – is a well-known and popular sweet drink in Russia. This healthy drink contains berries or fruits, also sugar and water, and thickened with a potato starch. Kisel can be served cold or hot, sometimes it’s poured over ‘cottage cheese bake’ or ‘syrniki’. The kisel thickness can vary depending on how much potato starch is used; the thickest version does look like a mousse or jelly and can be eaten with a spoon, however the thin kisel is the most common version in Russia and usually consumed as a drink.

Kisel is generally made with fresh berries or fruits (red currants, cherries, cranberries, apples – are most common flavors which are widely available in Russia), but during the winter sweet jams or frozen berries are used to make it. The very first Russian kisels were thick and made with oat, wheat, rye or pea flours, and it dates back over one thousand years.

Nowadays there are lots of instant kisel mixes, which you can find at Russian stores, but I do assure you that to make you own kisel is very easy and definitely better and tastier. I made mine with fresh red currants; you can use any fresh or frozen berries. Enjoy!

Kisel - Russian sweet drink

Servings: 6-8
Time: 20mins
Difficulty: easy
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To make thick kisel add more starch.

Ingredients

200-300g fresh red currants, rinsed

5-7 tbsp sugar (or more, depends on your taste)

2l water

3 tbsp potato starch (or cornstarch)

Method

Keep aside some red currats. Strain the rest through a sieve into a saucepan. Add water, sugar and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, taste and adjust the sweetness.
In a small cup, mix starch with few tablespoons of cold water. Add it to the saucepan along with red currants that you’ve kept. Give it a good stir and turn off the heat.
Pour in a glasses or cups. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!