Tag Archives: vegetarian

Vegetable Tian

 The first time I saw a layered vegetable dish, I couldn’t took took my eyes off the screen. It was so colorful and gorgeous! So, I did some research and found out that it’s called ‘tian’. Tian originated in Provance region of France and owes its name to the earthenware shallow dish in which it’s cooked in the oven and then served. It’s also can be describe as a gratin but in the Provencal style. I love such simple and delicious bakes, and I’ve already made various gratins but they are topped with breadcrumbs or cheese, so all its beauty is almost fully covered. I was lucky to buy some yellow zucchini (most of the time its price much higher compare to green ones) and made a beautiful tian! I had such a fun composing it, arranging vegetables slices in layers.  🙂 Vegetable tian

After making, baking and eating I came to the conclusion that tian is a wonderful and full of flavour dish, which is simple and fun to prepare! And one more note: the more colorful the vegetables – the more attractive the appearance of the tian. 😉

Vegetable Tian

  • Difficulty: easy
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Potatoes take the most time to cook, so if you want you may parboil potato slices or totally omit it.
Ingredients
yellow or/and green zucchini
eggplants
tomatoes
small potatoes, optional
olive oil
a pinch of dried basil and thyme
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
some grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional
 
  • Wash all the vegetables, clean the skin off the potatoes. Slice finely.
  • Grease a shallow dish with olive oil, arrange vegetable slices. Sprinkle with herbs, drizzle olive oil, and season generously. Cover loosely with foil.
  • Cook in preheated 180C oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle some cheese if using and cook uncovered for further 20-35 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
  • Serve warm as is or as a side dish to meat.

Enjoy! ❤ 

Beautiful Vegetable tian

Russian buckwheat kasha with mushrooms

 Buckwheat has always been a popular grain in Russia. It was brought in 7th century from Greece and soon became  extremely popular. Buckwheat was new and unknown grain in Russia, so it was called “Greek grain” or shortly “grechka”. It’s not a surprise why buckwheat was very beloved in old Russia: peasants called it “mother”, they grown it in a large amounts, so it was cheap and affordable grain. Moreover, it’s cooked quickly and has a high nutritional value – a plate of buckwheat kasha (porridge) for breakfast can keep you full for a long time. Buckwheat porridge was a favorite meal not only among peasants, it was also cooked for upper classes but with plenty of butter or sour cream. 
 Nowadays, there are lots of recipes with buckwheat, it’s cooked with milk and eaten for breakfast or as a side dish for meat like beefstroganov. Buckwheat porridge with fried onion and mushrooms is a popular dish in Russia, especially during the Great Lent when grains, vegetables and mushrooms become the main foods.
Russian Buckwheat Kasha
  Hope all lovely bloggers partying at Fiesta Friday will like this Russian buckwheat porridge, it contains vitamins, healthy organic acids and oils! Enjoy! 🙂

Russian buckwheat kasha with mushrooms

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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During the Great Lent or for vegetarian option omit the butter or substitute it with any veg.oil 
IngredientsBuckwheat Kasha (porridge)
200ml buckwheat
400ml water
1 tsp butter
1 Tbsp sunflower or other veg.oil
1 large onion, chopped
200g mixed mushrooms (or 400g frozen), chopped
25-30g butter
salt, pepper to taste
fresh chopped parsley, optional
  1. Wash buckwheat, put it a thick-bottomed or iron-castle pan, fry on a low heat without any oil for 2-3 minutes. Add water and good pinch of salt. Bring it to boil on a medium heat, then reduce the heat to low, add a teaspoon butter and simmer for 17-20 minutes or until all water will be absorbed. Don’t stir buckwheat during the cooking. When it’s ready, take the pan off the heat, cover with lid and few kitchen towels, let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, add onion and fry for few minutes. Stir in mushrooms, season to taste and fry on a medium-high heat until mushrooms are ready.
  3. Stir the mushroom mixture and butter into buckwheat. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve warm as a main dish or side dish to chicken, stewed meat or sausages. Enjoy!

Buckwheat Kasha with mushrooms

Masoor dal (red lentil) Soup

Masoor dal is a split red lentils, widely used in Asian cuisine, particularly in Indian. Lentil is a good source of protein and fiber. These lentils do not need to soak overnight, they cook very quickly, so the recipe is perfect for everyday cooking. Adding aromatic Asian spices enhances lentils’ taste and brings loads of flavour to the soup! Rich, amazingly good vegetarian thick soup; you should give this recipe a try! 🙂Masoor Dal (red lentil) Soup

Masoor dal (red lentil) Soup

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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You can skip chilli if you don’t want the soup hot, or add more if you like it really spicy.
The longer you cook the soup – more creamy it’ll be.
Ingredients
300g red lentils, washed
200g (2 small) potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 Tbsp olive or sunflower oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3-1/2 tsp chilli seeds, optional
1 clove
2 bay leaves
5-6 pink peppercorns, crushed
sea salt, to taste
3-4 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
naan/flatbread, to serve
  1. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds, chilli (if using), cumin, bay leaves, clove and fry until fragrant. Add onion and garlic, cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Stir in potatoes – fully coat it in oil and spices. Sprinkle with turmeric, pink pepper and salt, stir.
  2. Stir in lentils, add water to cover the mixture. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until vegetables are cooked. Add more boiling water or continue to simmer further to achieve your preferred consistency. Adjust the seasoning.
  3. Stir in fresh coriander. Serve with bread.

Pokhlyobka – The Old Russian Pottage

 Pokhlyobka is a kind of thick Russian soup made by adding flour, grains, potatoes or other vegetables. It is similar to the Britain Pottage.
 Long time ago, it was a main meal among poor strata of Russian society. Most of the time, villagers and peasant farmers cooked and ate vegetarian pottage, because such expensive ingredients like meat or fish were not affordable for them. It’s worth mentioning that meat was eaten once or twice a year; more luckily were farmers, who had lived near rivers and could caught a fish throughout the year. The dish was easy to prepare, and people could use the remains of the yesterday meal – chunks of boiled potatoes or cabbage, then add extra millet or buckwheat. The rich part also ate pokhlyobka, but it was significantly better and besides potatoes, contained the meat of duck, hazel-hens, and etc.
Pokhlyobka
 My recipe of Russian pottage is also without meat.. Definitely, a good piece of fatty pork or beef could makes the pokhlyobka especially rich, so if you’re not a vegetarian you may add it. But I suggest you to try the non-meat option, which is infused with aromatic spices, and delicious pumpkin and thick sour cream make the soup absolutely irresistible!
‘Acoulina cooked absolutely delicious koulebyaks, various pokhlyobki..kvas..soaked apples..’ from the Russian novel ‘Whites, blacks and grays’  by Ivan Lazhechnikov written in 1856.
Pokhlyobka - the old Russian thick soup
  ‘The dinner was absolutely delicious that day: pokhlyobka made from goose meat with wild onions, venison shashlik and slices of bear meat..’ from the Russian novel ‘Plutonia’ by Vladimir Obruchev written in 1915.

Pokhlyobka - The Old Russian Pottage

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
120-130g yellow split peas
3 small potatoes
300g pumpkin or squash
1 medium carrot, sliced
60-70g celery root, cut into small cubes
1 small onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped, optional
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
1.2 l water
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
salt, black pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped, for serving
sour cream, for serving, optional
fresh country-style bread, for serving, optional

Preparation

  1. Wash peas, put in a pan, cover with water and soak overnight. Pour out the water. Cover peas with new cold water. Boil on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until peas are tender. Skim the foam during the boiling.
  2. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the oil, add spices and fry them for a minute. Add garlic, onion, carrot, celery root and saute vegetables on a medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
  3. Peel and cut into small cubes potatoes and pumpkin.
  4. Add potatoes to the pottage. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
  5. Add pumpkin along with fried vegetables, simmer the pottage for 10 minutes more or until the pumpkin is soft.
  6. Adjust seasoning. If the pottage is too thick, add more hot water and stir through.
  7. Garnish each plate with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley. Serve with a slice of bread.
Enjoy the old Russian farmer meal! 🙂
I’m bringing this traditional recipe to all lovely people who’s enjoying the FF party today!

Russian beetroot salad

This simple salad is well-known in Russia. It brings back memories about my childhood, parents’ home and cold evenings, when we made the salad and then ate it. Beets, walnuts and garlic is a very good source of vitamins and oils, which is important during winter days. Prunes is another wonderful ingredient here, it adds sweetness to the salad (especially if the beets aren’t sugary); moreover, prunes have health benefits – they have a high anti-oxidant content and contain dietary fiber*.

 I still love and make this salad. For me it’s certainly a good and comforting recipe. You can serve it also as a side dish to grilled meat, burgers or chicken. I hope you do give it a try! So easy and so tasty! 🙂
Russian beetroot salad

Russian beetroot salad

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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Russian beet saladIngredients
2 medium beets
6-8 prunes (dried plums), pitted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of walnuts
2-3 Tbsp sour cream
salt, black pepper to taste
fresh dill, optional, for garnish
rye bread, for serving
Preparation
  • Boil or roast beets until they’re tender. Cool, peel and grate beets (using medium-hole grater).
  • If prunes are too dry, soak them in a warm water for 10-15 minutes. Then roughly chop prunes and walnuts.
  • Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Garnish with dill, if desire. Serve with rye bread.
Enjoy!
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