Today it has become fashionable to revive the traditions of their ancestors. Old Russian dishes appear in modern cuisine, the recipes of which, it would seem, were lost. We offer you to plunge into the past and cook 7 old dishes.
Briefly about the development of Russian cuisine
The medieval menu was very different from the modern one. The cuisine of Ancient Rus was simple and consisted mainly of vegetables, fish, mushrooms and flour dishes.
The development of cooking was greatly influenced by Orthodoxy. About 200 days a year people fasted and did not eat meat.
Dishes were mainly cooked in the oven - cooked, steamed, baked, stewed. Fermentation and salting were also widely used. The meat was cooked in soups and cereals. Cottage cheese called cheese was made from milk.
Russian cuisine has become more diverse after World War II. In the XIX century, it was enriched with many dishes that are prepared today. Ideas were gleaned in other countries. Non-Russian names began to be used: langets, beef stroganoff. Salads appeared. Russian “Vinaigrette” is still known to the whole world, as well as “Olivier”.
In the Soviet era, Russian cuisine again underwent significant changes. Many ingredients have become scarce or faded into the background. Mixed traditions of different peoples of the USSR. Dumplings, different types of cutlets and everything that has been familiar to each of us since childhood appeared on tables.
Antique recipes
Many old Russian dishes have sunk into oblivion. Significantly impoverished fish wealth of Russia. In this regard, recipes with fish have lost their relevance. In addition, the subtleties of preparation are rarely painted. Culinary knowledge was transmitted from old to young. It was believed that any woman knows how to cook. Therefore, in the first cookbooks (1547) there was only a list of dishes. How to cook some of them, no one managed to figure out. For example, "schipanaa paired."
But still an impressive portion of the recipes was able to write down and save. Here's what they looked like at that time:
In modern kitchen cooking with such recipes is difficult. The most interesting have been adapted. Next, we describe how to cook old Russian dishes step by step, without a stove, in a city apartment.
Vole
Soup is a traditional dish of Russia. It was cooked at all times. Soups were called loaves and stews. The bread included cabbage soup, fish soup, Kali, borscht and hodgepodge. There were 60 species of cabbage soup alone: green, lazy, empty, with meat, with mushrooms, with fish, daily allowance. Legends even circulated in neighboring countries, saying that the Russians were freezing cabbage soup on the way for travelers, and the dish only made it tastier.
Vole is the favorite stew of our ancestors. In a modern kitchen, it is prepared from the following products:
- rye flour - 1.5 cups;
- warm water - 1 l;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- chicken - 500-800 g;
- salt, seasonings and herbs to taste.
Recipe:
- One day before the start of cooking, pour the flour with water and put in a warm place. The basis of the dish is raschin, or the so-called rye sourdough. Bubbles on the surface indicate that the races are ready.
- Cook the chicken and onion broth. At will, garlic, dried mushrooms, peppers, bay leaves are added to it.
- Add fermentation to the finished broth, constantly stirring the liquid with a whisk.
The stew is thick, consistency like liquid sour cream. It is eaten with croutons, young potatoes, sour cream. You can fry the onion until golden and add it to the dish, put chicken cooked for the broth in a plate, chop a bunch of fresh herbs.
Stuffed Turnip
Potato is an imported vegetable. Before he took root on Russian soil, people in large quantities consumed turnips. It was perfectly stored all winter. It was cooked, baked, fried, stuffed, added to soups and pies. And the dried root vegetable tasted like dried fruits.
To cook stuffed turnips you will need:
- turnip - 4 pcs.;
- porcini mushrooms - 200 g;
- small onion - 1 pc.;
- butter - 30 g;
- chicken egg - 1 pc.;
- parsley, dill - 1 bunch;
- pepper and salt to taste.
Recipe:
- Peel and boil the turnips until ready in salted water.
- Remove the top (1-2 cm) and remove the pulp with a spoon, being careful not to damage the edges.
- Boil the egg and mushrooms separately.
- Finely chop the mushrooms and fry with onions. Peel the egg, chop and add to the mushrooms. Chop greens, salt and pepper the resulting filling.
- Start the turnip, close the top and place in the baking dish. Pour 1-2 cm of water into the bottom.
- Bake at 180 degrees until cooked (20–35 minutes).
Butter Buckwheat Pancakes
Pancakes - one of the most ancient Russian dishes. They were used in the rituals of the pagans. By the way, Maslenitsa, which is used to make pancakes, is an ancient pagan holiday. The dough was not made from the usual wheat flour; it appeared a little later. People were grinding oats, rye, and other grains.
For buckwheat pancakes you will need:
- buckwheat flour - 1 tbsp .;
- wheat flour - 1 tbsp .;
- yeast - 15 g;
- milk - 2 tbsp .;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
- chicken eggs - 2 pcs.;
- cream - 50 g;
- butter - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
- cooking oil for frying.
Step by step cooking:
- Pour buckwheat flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp. warm milk with diluted yeast. Stir and heat.
- When the dough begins to rise, pour out the remaining milk and add the wheat flour. Put the bowl back in heat.
- At this time, rub the butter with sugar, add the egg yolks. Whisk the whites with cream. Stir everything with the dough and leave it in a warm place for another 20 minutes.
- Fry the pancakes in a greased pan from 2 sides to a beautiful ruddy color.
Botvigna
Probably everyone in Russia knows a fairy tale about the tops and roots. But few know that in Ancient Russia the "inedible" tops were eaten with great pleasure. Especially tasty and healthy was considered a young beet tops. We suggest you try to cook the Old Russian soup based on it - the classic Botvini.
Botvigna consists of the following products:
- beet tops - 150 g;
- sorrel - 150 g;
- fresh cucumbers - 4 pcs.;
- radish - 6 pcs.;
- onions - 1 pc.;
- red fish fillet - 300 g;
- sour kvass - 250 ml;
- greens: parsley, dill, onions;
- bay leaves, salt, pepper to taste;
- grated horseradish - 0.5 tsp.
Recipe:
- Make a broth of red fish, onions, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Cut greens, sorrel and tops.
- Remove the fish from the broth, and add greens to the pan and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add horseradish and salt to taste. Pour kvass. Cool.
- Cut into strips cucumbers and radishes, arrange in plates and pour cold broth with kvass. Add a piece of previously boiled fillet to each serving.
Rybnik
Fish pie is a dish that has survived to our days with almost no changes. He is still respected and loved in many families. Cakes used to be considered festive food. The name itself - the pie - came from the word "feast", "feast." Each holiday and day had its own recipe. The filling was the most diverse. But especially in Russia they loved baking with fish.
Ingredients for the Fishman:
- milk - 120 ml;
- water - 30 ml;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- butter - 4 tbsp. spoons;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
- flour - 350 g;
- glaze yolk;
- fast yeast - 1 tsp;
- fish fillet (salmon, pike, ide, halibut or burbot) - 500 g;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- dill and onion greens - 1 bunch;
- salt and pepper to taste.
How to make a pie:
- Dissolve the yeast in warm water with sugar and leave under a film. In the meantime, beat the eggs with milk and a pinch of salt. Add flour and yeast to the mixture when they begin to bubble. Knead the dough. Add to it warm butter (2 tbsp. Tablespoons) and knead until plastic. Wrap the dough in a film and leave it warm for 1 hour.
- Slice the fish fillet, salt and pepper. Grind onions and fry until golden brown. Combine with fish.
- Lightly knead the risen dough, divide into 2 parts and roll into circles or rectangles 5–7 mm thick. Put the fish filling on the first half of the dough, leaving an empty space at the edge (2-3 cm). Sprinkle the fish with chopped herbs and small cubes of butter. Cover the filling with the second half of the dough. Beautifully twist the edges of the cake.
- Place the workpiece in a warm place for half an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Lubricate the surface of the cake with yolk, whipped with a little water, and bake for 40 minutes. If the crust darkens ahead of time, pierce it in several places with the tip of the knife, cover with foil and continue cooking.
Oatmeal jelly
Kissels - a traditional Russian dish. In the old days they were brewed with flour. Oatmeal and cranberry jelly were prepared for each holiday.
To make a drink you need:
- oats - 250 g;
- water - 2 l;
- brown bread - 30 g;
- sourdough - 1 tsp (can be without it);
- salt is a pinch.
Recipe:
- Grind oats with a coffee grinder. The smaller the better.
- Dissolve flour, a slice of bread, sourdough and salt in warm water.
- Leave the mixture warm for a day.
- Stir the liquid and strain through a cloth. Wring it out well. Pour a little oatmeal drink into a bowl and pour the cake. Stir and strain. Repeat procedure until cake does not remind sand.
- Put the oat water in a very low heat and, stirring constantly, cook for 15–20 minutes (at 90 degrees).
- Add salt to the hot jelly. Serve with milk and honey when it freezes.
Keep the cake in the refrigerator. Use it as a sourdough the next time you decide to make jelly.
Guys
As such, there was no candy in Ancient Russia. For dessert, they ate sweet cakes and pies, jelly beans, gingerbread cookies, and also little boys - sweet, dried vegetables.
The recipe is very simple:
- Peel a pumpkin, beetroot or carrot. Cut into large strips.
- Pour 1–2 cm of water into a cast iron or clay pot, put vegetables and bake in the oven at 170 degrees until soft.
- Dry the vegetables in an electric dryer for 4–5 hours or dry in the oven on a wire rack over low heat and with the door open. Keep an eye on the guys and turn them around.
Old Russian dishes cannot be called refined and refined. But they have one significant advantage: they are very healthy, satisfying and consist exclusively of natural ingredients. Having prepared them in your kitchen, you will get an unforgettable pleasure and an explosion of emotions. And how close will be the relatives of unusual botvigne instead of borsch, to the fishman and magnificent buckwheat pancakes!