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Julienne – Mushrooms in Sour Cream & Bacon Casserole

Jan 22nd, 2012
by sputniktomorrow.
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This one is another Russian favorite for special occasions, and conveniently very easy to make (it looks good too).  The recipe presented here is the most elementary one, and there are quite a few variations out there. So feel free to be creative.

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 1 lb portabella mushrooms (wild mushrooms are better).
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 1 tbs all purpose flour
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 6-9 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite)
  • 4 oz bacon (optional, can substitute any other meat as well)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Start by chopping up the mushrooms and onions. Wild mushrooms would have been used in Russia, which you can actually find canned in ethnic stores.  If none are available, baby bella mushrooms will suffice.

Melt the butter in a skillet and toss in the mushrooms.  Cook the mushrooms on medium-high heat for a few minutes and add the onion, salt, and pepper.

Keep cooking on medium-high heat until the onions have caramelized and mushrooms are tender.

Sprinkle with a flour and mix in the sour cream.

Transfer the mixture into any oven safe dish or a ramekin.

Sprinkle the mushrooms with coarse junks of bacon and top of a layer of shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven to 10-15 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted.

Enjoy!

Posted in: appetizer, Beef, Chicken, Dairy, Holiday, Meat Dishes, meat-less, Pork.
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Potato Knedliky (Dumplings) – or Klyotski/Klotski

Jan 8th, 2012
by sputniktomorrow.
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This one is a popular Czech/Hungarian/German dish, though quite popular in other Post-Soviet countries as well. Traditionally made with flour or potatoes, knedliky can be served in a soup (stuffed with mushroom for Belarusian version), served with mushroom sauce, or dressed in any number of ways. In my family, we add one final frying step and serve with caramelized onion and bacon (salo more typically). This particular recipe calls for boiling the potatoes first, however there are versions of dish made from raw potatoes (grated and strained before combining with flour).

Ingredients

  • 4-5 baker’s potatoes
  • 1-1.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 4-5 pieces of bacon (or enough salo to render about 0.25 cups fat)
  • 1 large sweet onion (finely chopped)
  • Salt pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and place them in a pot of salted water to boil until soft (for mashing).

Drain the potatoes well and return to the pot. Mash them until uniform consistency. You may want to let the potatoes stand for a little while to cool down after this step if you plan on rolling the dumplings by hand. Otherwise, thoroughly mix in the 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Roll one dumpling for testing. Drop it into boiling water, it should drop to the bottom, and float to the top when it’s done. If it starts falling apart add another half cup of flour to the dough. Make the rest of the knedliky and drop them into the boiling water. Again, cook until they float to the top and remove using a strainer.

At this point, the knedliky are done and ready for serving whichever way you like. For the way my family served them. Fry some bacon in a skillet until crispy, let dry, and cut up into bacon bits. Drain and set aside some of the bacon fat.

It’s important to note that salo is used more commonly in Russia. Finely chop a sweet onion and fry in the bacon grease until caramelized, set aside.

Then using tongues or a spatula, fry the knedliky in the bacon grease (or butter  if you don’t want to use bacon) until lightly browned on all sides.

Serve with a side of the caramelized onions and the bacon bits.

Enjoy!

Posted in: appetizer, Holiday, meat-less, Pork, Potatoes.
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Khachapuri (vatrushka with cheese) – Georgian cheese stuffed dough pastries

Sep 14th, 2011
by sputniktomorrow.
4 comments

Khachapuri is a traditional, Georgian (Caucasian) dish of leavened dough stuffed with cheese, typically suluguni. This particular recipe is adapted from a Russian recipe book called “Caucasian Kitchen” which describes the dish as a cheese stuffed vatrushka (usually stuffed with tvorog). We used a mix of mozarella and feta cheeses, but other cheeses can be used to taste.

The Khachapuri are light in texture but very rich in flavor, make a great appetizer or a snack.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 7 eggs
  • 0.25 oz packet of yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup milk (or water)
  • 4 oz feta and 4 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Directions

In a bowl, combine warm milk with yeast and let sit for a few minutes. Add the salt, sugar, 3 eggs, and flour.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly until homogeneous, light dough that doesn’t stick to your hands is formed. Add a little more flour if it keeps sticking. Set aside and let rise (20 minutes is enough if using quick-rise yeast).

Combine shredded cheese with 3 hard-boiled, chopped eggs, and melted butter.

Once the dough has risen, split into 4 pieces and roll out each piece into approximately 0.5inch thick round sheets.

Spread the cheese/egg filling in a thin layer on the sheet and roll the edges together, pinching the ends together.

Lay out the khachapuri on a well oiled pan, and use the last egg (beaten) to coat the edges of the dough.

Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

 

Posted in: appetizer, Dairy, Holiday, meat-less.
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