Let's Talk Food: Russia offers one of world’s most complex cuisines

Michelle Trachtenberg, writer and lecturer, ex­pressed my impressions of Russian cuisine more succinctly than I could: “The food was really in­teresting. My ethnic background is Russian, so cheese and potatoes are my love. There was plenty of that. And fried cheese. It is real­ly, really, really good. And really, really, really bad for you. It is like an artery on a plate.”

This summer, my grandson, Justin, and his partner, Josh, traveled to Russia and sampled the cuisine in St. Petersburg, Moscow and aboard a luxury cruise on the Volga River. And we literally ate our way across this part of the country.

Russia is the largest country in the world with a diverse population that has resulted in many re­gional dishes. Throughout these regions, the founda­tion of its cultural cuisine comes from the peasantry of the country.

Russia has a very harsh climate but there are vast regions that produce lamb, pork, beef, poultry, game, caviar, mushrooms, ber­ries and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, barley and mil­let provide ingredients for bread, pancakes, cereal, beer and the all-important vodka. Fish is also an im­portant part of the Rus­sian diet and is plentiful throughout the country.

Russia has always had a close relationship with France and it cuisine has become an important part of their food heritage. Dur­ing the 18th and 19th cen­turies the royals and the upper classes imported both products and chefs; mainly French and Aus­trian.

A new Russian cuisine came into the food cul­ture and is still an impor­tant part of daily diets. It was the beginning of the importation of smoked meats, fish, pastry, salads, green vegetables, choco­­late, ice cream, wines and liquors. Even Russian-born and trained chefs adopted the recipes and food tech­niques, which continue to the present time.

It is apparent most Rus­sians are faithful to the food of their ancestors. This is particularly ap­parent in the black bread that appears at every meal. Members of restaurant staffs were surprised we did not prefer white bread; evidently Americans have a reputation as being “strictly white bread.”

Allow your imagination to take you to a restaurant in Russia; peruse the menu and indulge in one of the world’s most complex and interesting cuisines.

■ Zakuski (snacks): No Russian would dare in­dulge in vodka without these tasty tidbits. These snacks include: salted cu­cumbers, caviar, blinis, salted herring and poor-­man’s caviar made from eggplant.

Russians also indulge in such “noshes” as sauer­kraut, marinated tomatoes and pickled mushrooms.

■ Soup: The Russians love their soup and most are hearty, aromatic and deli­cious.

Of course, the fame of borscht is well known, but not forgotten are such culinary wonders as fish soup with salted cucum­bers and capers, beetroot soup, chicken noodle soup, Georgian meat soup, fresh cabbage soup, veal kidney and cucumber soup and cold kvass soup (a ferment­ed liquid, low in alcohol).

■ Appetizers: For the ap­petizer course the Rus­sian host or hostess will offer such splendid cre­ations as: chopped her­ring salad, cold cod salad, layered herring salad, Rus­sian pancakes, veal brawn (cooked veal in gelatin), chicken liver pate, salted cucumbers, marinated mushrooms and beetroot caviar.

■ Fish: Who can resist sole enhanced with a vodka and caviar sauce, fish with mushroom and dill sauce, salmon pie (commonly known as coulibiac) or roasted carp with smetane (buckwheat groats).

■ Main dishes: After sam­pling all of the above I barely had room for such temptations as beef stro­ganoff, baked lamb with potatoes, eggplant and tomatoes, chicken burger with mushroom sauce,, chicken Kiev, and roast goose with apples. And for vegetarians, there are tempting selections of cheese dumplings, po­tato cakes with mushroom sauce, potato pies, a puff pastry cabbage pie, fried mushrooms with root veg­etables, sauerkraut stew with prunes, sauerkraut salad with cranberries and eggplant with buck­wheat groats.

■ Desserts: Russian food is heavy and hearty, so the meal usually ends with a light finish.

Fruit dishes such as compotes, baked apples, small blueberry pies, crepes (with fruit sauces) and if your sweet tooth in­sists, there is a variety of cakes, puddings and the popular Easter cake.

And don’t forget some Russian ice cream; they claim the world’s best but I leave that judgment up to you.

ASK DORIS

Q: My grandchildren will soon visit me and I want to surprise them with pigs’ ears but cannot find a recipe.

— Miriam Lutrell, Estero

A: This popular car­nival and fair food has many names: les Oreilles de cochon (Cajun) which means “pig’s ears” but in the Midwest they answer to “elephant ears.” South Carolinians simply call them “marvels.”

PIGS’ EARS

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons butter

Pinch of salt

2 cups flour

Oil for deep-frying

2 cups corn syrup

Powdered sugar

Chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1 In a bowl, beat together eggs, water, butter and salt.

2 Work in flour to make a smooth, slightly firm dough.

3 Separate into pieces and roll each one out to about the size of a walnut.

4 Roll into thin, flat circles about 4 inches in diameter.

5 Place the tines of a fork on one end to grip the dough and give it a quarter-inch turn so it resembles the crimp in a pig’s ear.

6 Drop the dough into hot oil and fry until brown and crisp.

7 Drain on paper towels.

8 In a saucepan, heat the corn syrup and pour over the pig’s ears. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and pow­dered sugar.

Doris Reynolds is the author of “When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried” and “Let’s Talk Food.” They are available for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. Also avail­able is a four-part DVD, “A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds.” Contact Doris Reyn­olds at foodlvr25@aol.com.