Beef casserole – Zharkoye
This is a wonderful ancient Russian dish with a surprisingly delicious taste and tempting aroma.
Ingredients
650 g beef, diced
500 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, sliced
4 tbsp melted butter
2 onions, sliced
150 g beef stock
100 ml white wine
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper, parsley
sour cream (optional)
Heat half the butter in a frying pan. Lightly fry onions and carrot. Heat the remaining butter in a
separate frying pan and lightly brown the beef.
Place the beef, potatoes, onions and carrots, add salt, pepper and a bay leaf. Add the beef stock and
place in a preheated oven for 50 minutes at 170 C. Pour white wine and cook for another 10
minutes.
Serve with sour cream (optional) and chopped parsley.
Savoury pancakes – Blini s myasom
These beef-filled Russian pancakes make a tasty and tempting supper.
Ingredients
For pancakes
250 g flour
500 g milk
3 eggs
30 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
For savoury filling
700 g lean beef
1 tsp salt
5 pepper corns
1 onion, finely chopped
Mix eggs, salt and sugar in a blender, add milk and flower and continue to mix. Add oil and mix
until smooth. Heat a frying pan. Add oil for every pancake. Pour the mixture thinly in the frying
pan, turn over and fry until ready.
Boil beef in 2 litres of water until tender for about 2 hours. Transfer the cooked beef in a blender
and process until smooth. Fry the chopped onion until golden in colour. Add to the processed beef,
mix thoroughly. Place one table spoon of the mixture in the middle of the pancake and fold to form
a parcel. Fry in the frying pan on the sealed side first. Fry for a few minutes, then turn over and fry
until slightly crispy.
Serve hot.
Buckwheat with mushrooms and onions – Kasha
Orthodox Lent follows the Pancakes week. No meat, poultry or dairy products are allowed for the
whole duration of Lent. This is one of the traditional Lenten dishes.
Ingredients
150 g buckwheat
500 ml water
250 g mushrooms, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
parsley and dill, chopped (optional)
oil for frying
salt, freshly crushed pepper
Place buckwheat in an oven proof dish and add water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat. Cover the
pan with the lead and cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until all water evaporates.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onions for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms and fry for
8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper and mix with the cooked buckwheat.
Preheat the oven to 150 C and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Serve with scallions or parsley and dill.
Pancakes with cottage cheese – Blini s tvorogom
Pancakes filled with sweet cottage cheese can make a light dessert.
Ingredients
For the pancakes
250 g flour
500 g milk
30 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
For cottage cheese filling
500 g cottage cheese
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
vanilla essence (optional)
Mix eggs, salt and sugar in a blender, add milk and flower and continue to mix. Add oil and mix
until smooth. Heat a frying pan, add oil for every pancake. Pour the mixture thinly into the frying
pan, turn over and fry until ready.
Strain cottage cheese if it contains liquid. Mix with eggs, add sugar and 1 drop of vanilla essence
(optional). Place one table spoon of cheese mixture in the middle of the pancake and fold to form a
parcel. Fry in the frying pan on the sealed side first. Fry for a few minutes, then turn over and fry
until slightly crispy.
Serve with honey, jam, or sour cream.
