What can be easy to make and exquisite at the same time? Buttered bread with caviar, of course!
In English language, only fish eggs of Acipenseridae family, are called caviar. This product is black. The rest fish eggs are referred to as “roe”. In Russian though, all fish eggs are called “caviar” (“ikra”), and additional clarity is added by an adjective. So far in Russian there is black caviar (i.e. caviar), red caviar (salmon roe), or capelin caviar (capelin roe) etc.
Salmon roe, or red caviar in Russian, is not as priced as black caviar, yet also a delicacy. Mini buttered breads with salmon roe will be a great finger food and give a Russian twist to your party.
How to make breads:
Butter good white bread with good butter, spread caviar and decorate with parsley. Baguette will be good, or toast bread additionally warmed up in an oven.
You can cut bread into miniature pieces. Do not spread too much caviar/roe as some guests can find it too salty.
Blini are Russian pancakes, and there are a lot of varieties of them. Blini can be thick or thin, and with or without yeast. Thin blini can be stuffed with sweet of savoury stuffing.
Kefir blini are made with fermented dairy drink kefir, but you can substitute it with buttermilk or plain yoghurt. These blini are very good for weekend mornings, and they are not only delicious, but very filling.
The general technique, as with all kinds of pancakes in general, is following a few tips:
1. Make sure the frying pan is warm and oiled evenly with a paper towel to avoid excess oil. It’s not necessary to oil the pan after every pancakes, just every so often.
2. The key to success is the thickness of the batter. It should not be too runny, but rather flow slowly and graciously from the ladle into the pot.
3. The probe of the first pancake: The first pancake always serves as a probe to see if the ingredients are in the right proportion. If you couldn’t flip the pancake over, add some more flour into the batter, a few drop of olive oil, stir and go ahead again.
Buckwheat (Rus. grechka) is a gluten-free whole grain and an amazing super healthy product. There are only several similar groats that can serve as a tasty garnish and are good for you – and buckwheat is one of them. For instance, if you are aware of your diet you will have to control your consumption of white rice, couscous – not to mention fries – but buckwheat will give you a perfect side dish full of vitamins and nutrients.
There are some of the buckwheat health benefits:
it’s gluten free
it helps maintain blood flow and thus is good for cardiovascular system
it is linked to lowering risk of developing high cholesterol and high blood pressure
it has antioxidant properties
it is low in calories (1 cup of cooked groats contains 155 calories – fat not added in cooking)
This is a diagram of nutrients in Buckwheat as given on the site www.whfoods.com The world’s healthiest foods
You can read more on the site The world’s healthiest food by following the link: Buckwheat.
HOW TO COOK
The healthy properties of Buckwheat are very well known in Russia and several meals feature this product.
Kasha is the most straightforward recipe and you can have it for breakfast, or use as a side dish.
You will need:
1/2 cups Buckwheat
1 cup water
Butter to taste
Salt
Method:
Rinse buckwheat thoroughly under running water and remove any debris or any black seeds
Add water and salt, and bring to boil leaving the lid slightly open
When the water starts boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes
Switch off the heat, add and mix in some butter, cover with the lid and leave for 10 minutes
* In Russian this is called “grechka”, but in English it is also known as “kasha”.
* For bigger portions use the proportion: 1 part of buckwheat to 2 parts of water (i.e. for one cup of buckwheat use 2 cups of water etc.)
* Serving idea#1: With some zucchini caviar it is simply amazing!
* Serving idea#2: Once kasha cools down you can mix it with milk to get a healthy buckwheat snack.
Solyanka soup is an explosion of taste and an unbelievable mix of ingredients – olives, capers, pickled cucumbers and lemon. This great appetizer can be served at parties as a starter. Its bright colours would lift up everybody’s spirit too! Solyanka soup can be made either with meat or fish. Meat Solyanka can be served with sour cream smetana.
Processed cheese Druzhba (plavlennyi syrok Druzhba) has been a popular and available snack product in Soviet times. When the choice in the shops was scarce and the earnings low, this affordable product won the hearts of the masses. People ate it as a snack or used as an ingredient for salads, finger foods and even soups.
In modern Russia Druzhba (literally meaning Friendship) is recognized as a cult Soviet product and spotting it on the supermarket shelves among fancy French and Swiss cheeses, one can feel nostalgic about old days.
The manufacturer of the cheese has put up a funky monument to the syrok in front of its headquarter in Moscow. Two characters of a world- famous fable (translated in Russian in 19 century by poet Krylov and now a studied at elementary schools) – a fox and a crow, hold a piece of Druzhba cheese with love and care.
The manufacturer produces many other similar products, for instance the cheese Coral with shrimp taste. One can argue that these extra flavoured spread cheeses are more delicate and intricate than their predecessor.
