BEYOND BORSCHT

I was looking forward to my research on Russian food because, for those of us who aren’t Russian, it is a bit of a mystery. Sure, we all know about borscht, but it’s unlikely that Russia’s 142 million people sit around eating borscht day after day. And…it’s a huge country that actually spans two continents, so the food is as diverse as the people. With over 160 nationalities represented, there must be some incredible “melting pot” stuff going on when it comes to cuisine!

Many of the foods we consider Russian are actually French influenced and known as Franco-Russian. Examples are Veal Orloff, Beef stroganoff and Chicken Kiev. Here are a few other main dishes that sounded good to me: Beef Shashlyk is a marinated beef kabob, popular at picnics. Bosartma is stewed lamb in a tomato base. Fish cutlets involve grinding the fish, mixing it with sour cream, egg and other ingredients, then forming a cutlet or patty which is fried.

Hot and cold soups have always played an important role in Russian meals. An age-old favorite is Shchi (pictured at right), which contains cabbage, meat, carrots or parsley roots; spicy herbs like garlic or onions; and sour components, like apples, sauerkraut or pickle water. Rassolnik is a hot soup in a salty-sour cucumber base which contains either veal, beef kidneys or poultry giblets.

Now this came as a surprise to me: mushrooms are a popular ingredient in Russian cuisine, often replacing meat. Here’s a delicious traditional mushroom-based recipe.

MUSHROOM CUTLETS

200 grams fresh mushrooms
100 grams rice
2 onions
2 Tbs. flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Boil mushrooms in salted water, then drain and rinse. Let water trickle off. Finely chop mushrooms and set aside. Finely chop onion and fry in oil. Boil rice until almost cooked, then let it cool. Mix mushrooms with onion, rice, salt and pepper to taste. Shape into small cutlets and roll in flour. Fry in oil until there is golden skin.Serve with a fresh green salad.

Raving About Russia

A couple of things I find fascinating about Russia: One, it’s immense size. Two, according to a map, you could almost get there from any point in the U.S. by driving to the western most tip of Alaska and swimming across the Bering Strait. Yes, I know this is not realistic – it just looks that way. But even if there were roads through all that Canadian and Alaskan wilderness, and the swimmer in question was Michael Phelps, my guess is the Bering Strait would be cold enough to instantly ice-cube someone within minutes. (It connects the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean.)

Russia has many interesting features and places to visit, but the one I’ve always wanted to see is Lake Baikal. Like Russia, it is huge. Located in Southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is the largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world. It is also one of the most ancient lakes on our planet, estimated at 25-30 million years old. It lies in a gorge where the earth’s crust is pulling apart. What does that mean, exactly? I don’t know – sounds a little scary. It’s age, depth and other unique features mean that two-thirds of this lake’s 2,000 species of plants and animals don’t exist anywhere else in the world! Now that is amazing!

One of the lake’s popular critters is the Nerpa Seal, which is fat and earless. No one knows how these seals came to live there, since it is a great distance from any ocean. I love it that our world still has mysteries!

Completely surrounded by mountains, the sheer beauty of this lake draws people from all over the world. Coming soon…the food of Russia, along with a recipe!