In the Kitchen/на кухне

[mendeleyev]

There are several excellent threads scattered through the pages of RWD on recipes, etc. I hope that it will be valuable for readers to have the ability to find culinary items under one common heading, and so we introduce "In the Kitchen."



Spend enough time in the former Soviet Union and before too long you will encounter the phrase Все собрались на кухне. That translates as “Everyone has gathered in the kitchen" and it is often an accurate statement. As with any other culture, food is a common way to celebrate life and is shared with family and friends.

To be invited into the kitchen is a sign of friendship and closeness, so do not necessarily expect to be invited there on your first visit. If so, great. On a more formal visit, or for the first time, guests are often seated comfortably in the room where the meal will eventually be served.

To begin this series, we'll start with a few terms:

кухня kitchen
блюдце saucer
вилка fork
кастрюля saucepan
кофемолка coffee grinder
ложка spoon
нож knife
плита stove
посуда crockery
раковина sink
сковорода frying pan
салфетка napkin
скатерть tablecloth
стакан glass
тарелка plate
тёрка grater
холодильник refrigerator
чайник electric tea kettle
чашка cup   

We will add more terms and phrases as we go along, but to learn how to correctly speak these, here is the link where the author of that list, a Russian speaking woman, will pronounce them for you correctly. http://ruswords.co.uk/content/russian-words-kitchen

Pay special attention to where she places the stress--getting the stress properly will make the difference as to whether you can be understood by a Russian speaker.

Note: Some of the material in this thread will come from the culinary section of the MendeleyevJournal, Russian Cuisine: In the Kitchen.

[mendeleyev]

Okay, we are "in the kitchen" and where should we begin?

There are a number of excellent dishes which could qualify for the starting position, so without purposely slighting any of the others, we shall begin with the very popular Салат оливье (Salad Olivier).

This popular take on potato salad is Russian, although some claim it to be French or Persian. So, lets quickly cover the official story of how this popular dish was created: In 1860, a Belgian chef who owned and operated a highly regarded Moscow restaurant, The Hermitage (means "place for hermits") created this dish. His name was Lucien Olivier, and thus the name of this wonderful dish.

The magic stops there however, as he took the exact recipe to his grave, which is here in the Vvedenskoye Cemetery (German/Protestant cemetery)in Moscow.




Olivier never used traditional mayonnaise in his recipe, although he used Olive oil mixed with a French wine vinegar, along with other ingredients. Sometimes it is thought that the olive oil had something to do with the name of the salad. Not really, but his original recipe did include veal, caviar, grouse, lettuce and other ingredients not available to the working class. Over time, his famous salad was adapted to ingredients which could be obtained by ordinary folk. Thus, perhaps the name really has little to do with the "Olivier salad" most of us enjoy today.

Sometimes you'll hear Russian-speakers call it салат столичный, meaning "capital city salad." Given the evolution of this salad over the years, perhaps that is a more accurate title today. It is a "must have" dish for the New Year table.

Not only is she easy on the eyes, but Olga Valentina is just plain entertaining! Olga is the fun host of "Olga Cooks" and readers/viewers will enjoy her take on this salad:

 
 

 
 
You can make this authentic Russian potato salad "Olivie" in your own kitchen, and it is delicious! 

This recipe is compliments of a very excellent Russian cafe in Boston, Cafe "Stoli" (столы means "tables"). If you love shrimp or chicken, you're going to dig this version of the salad. And, it's so easy that if you can buy some pickles, a can of peas, boil 6 eggs, peel a few potatoes and cut up some carrots.....your friends will think you've become a master chef!

For a vegetarian version, just leave out the meat.

Ingredients:
6 large potatoes
2 average carrots
6 eggs
4 pickles
1/2 lb of your choice of cooked meat (beef or chicken) or mushrooms (vegetarian version) or shrimps (seafood version)
1/2 can of sweet green peas
salt and pepper
Mayonnaise or sour cream

Preparation:
Boil potatoes, carrots, and eggs.
Peel and cut all the vegetables in small cubes. Cut pickles. Chop your choice of meat, chicken, mushrooms or shrimps.
Mix everything together. Add peas.
Dress with mayonnaise or sour cream.
Add salt and pepper for your taste.


It seems that every chef has their own twist on this tasty dish, so here is another look from Tatyana at TatyanasEverydayFood channel:

 
   
 

[Boethius]

I love cалат оливьe, but I enjoy all potato salads.  In our house, it is always vegetarian.

[Larry1]

Natasha's Kitchen is a great cooking blog by a Ukrainian girl who now lives in the US:

http://natashaskitchen.com

The lovely Natasha shares a lot of recipes from her family in Ukraine and adds many new ones she has tried.  The photographs of her dishes are beautiful.

[mendeleyev]

Larry, as you and 2TallBill are culinary buffs, I hope that you will both contribute often to "In The Kitchen." All cooking/recipe contributions from RWD members are welcome.

[mendeleyev]

Borscht (борщ). Why not?

If my mother-in-law were writing this, she'd be sure to tell you that Borscht is not soup, and soup is not Borscht. There are lots of folk who insist that Borscht is its own food group, you know, kind of like vodka. I learned a long time ago that it is futile to question this logic, so Borscht is borscht is borscht. That settles it.

Which, speaking of food groups, now is a good time to take a quick gander at a typical Russian food pyramid:

                        Champagne
               Herring Herring Herring
          Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer
     Vodka Vodka Vodka Vodka Vodka Vodka
Borscht Borscht Borscht Borscht Borscht Borscht

...with bread.


Now that you are sufficiently nutritionally astute, we can make some borscht!

Despite what the Ruskies and Poles will tell you, Borscht is a Ukrainian dish. So we're going to let a little old nice Ukrainian babushka show how it is done!



Isn't she nice? Her name is Emma (Эмма). I love her speaking cadence--it is so wonderfully typical! Just close your eyes and listen--she is a million Ukrainian/Russian grandmothers across the globe.

Now, before you complain that the video was not in English, I should point out that you can fiddle around with the CC (closed caption) settings and viola!, there is English. However, be forewarned: the "English" might be, ah, well, entertaining. Better off to just sit and watch. Borscht is not exactly rocket science, and if you cannot get the hang of it by watching, then perhaps you should not be allowed to play with matches in the kitchen.

The use of beef or pork are traditional ways to cook Borscht, but other meats are sometimes used. Is it necessary to add meat? Not at all. During the the Orthodox fasting cycles, vegetarian borscht is very popular, especially during the Easter and Christmas Lenten fasts.

[mendeleyev]

Here is a recipe for Vegetarian Borscht:

So, after all the travel and tasting, which is the best borscht?  When it comes to the final analysis, good borscht is good borscht no matter where you find it. So, enjoy your hand at making borscht.  Just don't call it 'soup,' at least not when anyone with a Russian accent is lurking nearby.

Ingredients

600 g chopped red beets

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400 g chopped root vegetables (traditionally celery root, parsnip, cabbage, carrot)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt, black pepper to taste
• vegetable broth
• chopped fresh dill or parsley leaves
• sour cream (to garnish)
• horseradish (to garnish)

Method:

Peel the red beets and chop into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a pan and brown sliced onions and garlic. (if you re thinking about the meat version, add the sliced pork/beef cubes at this stage and brown properly). Add the cumin seeds and the chopped vegetables. Coat well and fry over low heat until the veggies are soft, but crispy. Add the broth to cover the vegetables. Bring to boil, cover and let cook until soft. Add the black pepper and salt to taste and squeeze in the lemon juice.

Puree half of the soup (unless there is meat in it) and bring back to the boil. Mix in the parsley leaves and serve.


Shred the horseradish very finely and mix in with the sour cream. Serve the soup with a slice of black rye bread.

[mendeleyev]

Two more sources for borscht. We first featured a Ukrainian babushka, and so now we will feature this MOB from Russia, "Sexy Natasha," as she calls her cooking channel.






Next, we will showcase one of my culinary instructors, Chef John of www.FoodWishes.com. Years ago when I decided that it was time to take my passion for cooking to the next level, Chef John was one of the instructors who (tried) to teach amateurs like myself. He is Mr. Positive, always encouraging, and a super inspiration.



Frankly, I was surprised that he had a borscht technique of his own. Sans potatoes, but I'll forgive him.

[Anotherkiwi]

To begin this series, we'll start with a few terms:
...

We will add more terms and phrases as we go along, but to learn how to correctly speak these, here is the link where the author of that list, a Russian speaking woman, will pronounce them for you correctly. http://ruswords.co.uk/content/russian-words-kitchen

Pay special attention to where she places the stress--getting the stress properly will make the difference as to whether you can be understood by a Russian speaker.

One thing which I don't see in your photo, and which I despaired of finding everywhere I went:

the пробка, in the sense of a plug (not a cork) to stop water running straight out of the sink.  I was most confused when I went into my first Russian kitchen to find that this essential item (in the West, anyway) could not be found anywhere.  I was even more surprised to find that dishes were washed simply by being put under the running tap, with a little bit of detergent squirted onto each item.  To me it simply seemed such a waste.  I tried buying one in the shops and markets in Naberezhnye Chelny, but there were none to be seen.  Whether that is common to all of Russia, or only to Tatarstan, I couldn't say, because I had them in my apartment in St Petersburg on my first trip, but not in the apartment I used four years later.

I also couldn't find anything to stop water running away in baths or bathroom basins, so I made sure that I took a couple of different-sized plugs with me on my second trip.  They came in very handy.

[SANDRO43]

One thing which I don't see in your photo, and which I despaired of finding everywhere I went:the пробка, in the sense of a plug (not a cork) to stop water running straight out of the sink.

Maybe the KGB FSB installs bugs in the drains ?

[Doll]

I love cалат оливьe, but I enjoy all potato salads.  In our house, it is always vegetarian.

Are you a vegetarian?
I love оливьe a lot!

[mendeleyev]

I was even more surprised to find that dishes were washed simply by being put under the running tap, with a little bit of detergent squirted onto each item.

Wait, are you saying that this is not normal? 

Maybe the KGB FSB installs bugs in the drains ?

Maybe the KGB FSB installs bugs in the drains.

[Boethius]

Are you a vegetarian?
I love оливьe a lot!

No, but my husband, is, as is one son.

[SANDRO43]

Maybe the KGB FSB installs bugs in the drains.

Aah, that's why those operatives are known as 'plumbers' in the trade .

[mendeleyev]

 

[Anotherkiwi]

Aah, that's why those operatives are known as 'plumbers' in the trade .

Nice one, Sandro! 

However, all joking aside, my observation/question WAS actually serious.  Is the lack of a drain plug a regional variation, or is this actually quite common throughout the FSU?

[mendeleyev]

Anotherkiwi, I have noticed the same scarcity of plugs. I recall that in my very first Moscow apartment ages ago, there was neither a plug in the kitchen, nor in the bathtub. There are plugs in many homes, however, so I'm not sure why they are not universally in use.

[SANDRO43]

There are plugs in many homes, however, so I'm not sure why they are not universally in use.

They are missing in those homes not exhibiting enthusiastic agreement with their President's policy .

The 'plumbers' remove them to install their drain bugs, then sell them discreetly on the black market .

[mendeleyev]

Yes, Sandro, and the FSB KGB has discovered that a sneaky way to pass state secrets to the main enemy is via kitchen and bath drainage pipes!

[Anotherkiwi]

Yes, Sandro, and the FSB KGB has discovered that a sneaky way to pass state secrets to the main enemy is via kitchen and bath drainage pipes!

Not only - "Knock Three Times (on the ceiling) if you want me!"

[Doll]

Yes, Sandro, and the FSB KGB has discovered that a sneaky way to pass state secrets to the main enemy is via kitchen and bath drainage pipes!

Бог мой- какая пурга! А взрослый человек 

[mendeleyev]

Chicken Kiev (Котлета по-київськи):

Chicken Kiev, and its variants,  is a wonderful dish of disputed origins, and claimed by everyone. Many food historians, and yes there is such a thing, believe it was created in a Saint Petersburg restaurant, and given the menu name because it resembled cutlets from Kiev. Some say that Chicken Cordon Bleu is the French take on the entree.

It really isn't that old, dating to the early 20th Century. My mother used to make this on special occasions, and most readers here can probably recall this from childhood, too. It is truly international. British readers may remember that it was the first "ready made" entree offered by Marks & Spencer's in 1976.

The traditional side dishes for Chicken Kiev are mashed potatoes and peas.

There is a process and it takes some time, but it is easy to follow:




As many of our readers are male, is there a short cut to Chicken Kiev? Maybe, but only for those with English accents:

[KenInUtah]

Well, I have a pot of Schi going right now.  My specialty though is Svickova.  It's Czech but delicious

[SANDRO43]

Котлета...

Another borrowed word , probably from French cotelette - also responsible for cutlet - but originally from Italian cotoletta/costoletta, the latter a small costola, i.e. a small rib .

[Anotherkiwi]

Another borrowed word , probably from French cotelette - also responsible for cutlet - but originally from Italian cotoletta/costoletta, the latter a small costola, i.e. a small rib .

You can go back even further, as it's the diminutive of the Latin "costa" (a full-size rib [or side]!).