Everyday Russian Food Rotating Header Image

Hvorost – Deep Fried Pastries

Feb 5th, 2012
by sputniktomorrow.
1 comment

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

The literal translation of “hvorost” is brushwood, due to the crunch they produce similar to dry wood.  This is a traditional Ukrainian and Russian dessert that has been prepared for at least a few hundred years. There are many variations, as with all other old recipes, including versions that are prepared with cheese or mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 tbs vodka
  • 1 cup Kefir (or 2 tbs sour cream + 1 cup milk)
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 3 cups flour
  • Oil for deep frying (vegetable or canola)
  • Powdered sugar

Combine the eggs, vodka, kefir, sugar, salt, and 2.5 cups flour. Mix and fold the dough, adding more flour as needed, until it no longer sticks to your hands.

Quarter the dough, and roll out each piece on a well floured surface until it’s an eighth of an inch thick. Slice the dough using a pizza cutter or a knife into approximately 1 inch wide strips, and cut a small slit in the middle of each strip.

Take one of the ends of each strip and pull through the slit, partly inverting the strips. This is for decorative purposes; feel free to form them into any other creative shape.

Heat sufficient oil in a pan to submerge the pastries (3 inches). We had the temperature at approximately 320 degrees.  Drop only a few strips of hvorost at a time, they will expand in the oil. Cook for a few minutes, making sure they are evenly cooked on each side.

When they are golden brown, carefully remove from oil and stack on a large plate.

The pastries themselves aren’t that sweet, therefore a lot of the sweetness will come from how you top them.

Powder the hvorost with sugar and serve. Alternatively use honey or any kind of syrup.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Dairy, dessert, Holiday, meat-less.
Tagged: · ·

Julienne – Mushrooms in Sour Cream & Bacon Casserole

Jan 22nd, 2012
by sputniktomorrow.
No comments yet

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.
Tagged: · · ·

Potato Knedliky (Dumplings) – or Klyotski/Klotski

Jan 8th, 2012
by sputniktomorrow.
No comments yet

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.
Tagged: · · ·

← Earlier Posts