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Archives for June 2015

Strawberry Jam

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Summer 2015 came a little earlier this season, and so did
the strawberries. My family and I have a tradition to go to the local farm for
U-pick.  Despite  their small
size the berries are very fragrant, refreshingly sweet
and a little tangy. In less than an hour I picked about
3 pounds. I made 2 kinds of jams: one with whole berries and another one with smashed.
Both are good to
use as a spread, with pancakes or just as-is.

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 lbs. fresh strawberries
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons pectin* (optional)
  • 3 teaspoons calcium water (optional)
  • Small mason jars with lids

Directions

Wash and rinse the jars; let stand in hot water. Bring the
lids and rings to boil; turn down the heat and let stand in hot water.

Meanwhile, wash the berries and
remove the hulls. In a wide bowl crush the strawberries in batches until you
have 6 cups of mashed berries. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the
strawberries and calcium water. In a separate bowl combine the sugar with pectin.

Bring the saucepan to boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture and
stir it vigorously for  1-2 minutes while
cooking to dissolve the sugar completely. Remove from heat.

Fill the jars, leaving ¼ to ½ an inch headspace and seal.
If the jam is going to be served right away, don’t bother with processing and
just refrigerate.

* Pectin is a natural carbohydrate in fruits and vegetables and
is responsible for a cell structure. It is possible to achieve a jam or jelly
consistency without using pectin. However, it’s  a little trickier, with less consistent
outcomes.

Svekolnik – Cold Beet Soup

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This is a Russian
summer favorite, perfect for a lunch on a hot afternoon. It is also called Cold
Borsht, Holodnick and has many variations all over the Eastern Europe. Roasted beets provide depth and sweetness, kefir adds the
tartness, and scallions and hard boiled eggs make
Svekolnik a filling meal. I use my own marinated beets – they give the dish
deeper color and flavor.

Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking: 20 min

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium-sized beets
  • 4 hard-boiled egg, chopped
  • 2 Kirby cucumbers, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced
  • ½ cup of minced scallions
  • 1/3 cup of minced fresh dill
  • 10 radishes, sliced in half-moons
  • 4 cups of low-fat kefir or buttermilk
  • 2 cups of mineral water
  • ¾ lb. of bologna, diced (optional)
  • 4 large yellow potatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

You can just bake or steam the beets until they are
fork-tender. Or go an extra step and marinate them. See the recipe here. This step could be made ahead of time.

In a 3 qt. pot combine together grated beets (drained if
marinated), chopped eggs, sliced cucumbers, minced dill, scallions and
radishes. Add diced bologna or keep it vegetarian. Poor the low-fat kefir or
buttermilk. Add about 2 cups of mineral water or more to reach the consistency
you prefer. Serve with few hot boiled potatoes cur lengthwise. Sprinkle with
dill.

Serve with few hot boiled potatoes cur lengthwise. Sprinkle with dill.

Marinated Beets

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This is a quick and
easy recipe to preserve beets and use them during hot summer for cold soups
like Svekolnik.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons 9% vinegar
  • 1 lb. of beets

Directions

Clean and trim the beets. You can bake them in foil at 400F
for about an hour or steam them for 35-40 minutes. The beets are ready when
they are fork tender. Let them cool before peeling and grating (this can be
done ahead of time). After that, place them in a glass jar and pour the marinade.

For the marinade, combine the first 4 ingredients in a large
pot. When it starts boiling remove the pot from the stove.  Pour the marinade into prepared jars with
beets. Let it cool and store it in the fridge for up to 6 months. It is ready for
use as soon as the day after.

Kulebiaka – Salmon in Pastry

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This is a rich flaky pastry, filled normally with a mixture of salmon, cabbage, and mushrooms (many other filling choices are possible as well), then rolled up and baked. It is served hot or cold in thick slices, with the addition of extra butter and the inevitable sour cream or hot chicken bouillon.
I would have never attempted to take on this recipe without the presence of an expert like my grandma by my side. What changed my mind is a book by Anya Von Bremzen “Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing”. In this book Anya Von Bremzen describes the life of her family in Russia during the years of 1910-2011. After reading it, I felt like it filled in my mind many missing pieces of the puzzled history of my home county and inspired me to make this dish.

Ingredients:

Pastry

  • ¼ cup warm milk
  • 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 large raw egg
  • 2 hard-cooked eggs
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 8 Tbs.  unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
  • + 4 Tbs. for the filling
  • 2¼ cups flour, more if needed
  • 3 Tbs. canola oil

Filling

  • 8 oz. salmon, cut into 1-inch
    pieces 
  • 8 oz. cod, cut into 1-inch pieces 
  • 2 medium chopped onions
  • 10 oz cremini mushrooms, finely
    chopped
  • 1 cup cooked rice3 Tbs. chopped dill
  • 3 Tbs. chopped parsley
  • 2 Tbs. vermouth or dry sherry
  • 2 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 3 Tbs. chicken stock
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • pepper 

For assembling

  • 2-3 Tbs. dried bread crumbs
  • 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 tsp.
    milk for glazing

Directions

Pastry
In a medium bowl stir together : ¼
cup warm milk, 2¼
teaspoons active dry yeast and 2
tsp. sugar and let
stand until foamy. Whisk in the raw egg,
½ cup sour cream, and the salt.

In a large bowl, combine the 8 tablespoons of cut butter with 2¼ cups flour.
Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles
coarse bread crumbs. Add the yeast mixture and stir well with your hands to
make a soft dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Bring the dough to room temperature, about 1
hour. Grease a mixing bowl with a little butter or oil. Turn the dough out onto
a floured work surface and kneads, adding more flour as needed, until smooth
and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl,
cover with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about
2 hours.

Filling

In a large skillet heat the oil and 2
tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the salmon and cod and cook,
turning once, with fish just begins to flake, about 7 minutes. Transfer the
fish to a large bowl. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the
remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onions and cook until golden. Add the
mushrooms and cook until they are golden and the liquid they throw off has
evaporated, about 7 minutes, adding more oil if the skillet looks dry. Transfer
the mushrooms and onions to the bowl with the fish. Add the remaining ¼ cup
sour cream, the hard-cooked eggs, rice, dill, parsley, vermouth, lemon juice,
stock and nutmeg. Mix everything well with 2 forks, stirring gently to break up
the fish. Season with salt and pepper. Let the filling cool to room temperature.

Assembling

Preheat the oven 400°F with the rack set in the center. Half the dough and form 2 logs. On two lightly floured sheets of wax paper, roll each log into a 10×16-inch rectangle.

  Transfer  one dough sheet to a large foil-lined baking
sheet. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, leaving 1-inch border. Spread the filling
over the bread crumbs, leaving 1-inch border. 

Spread the filling over the bread
crumbs in a neat compact layer. Drape the remaining dough over the filling and
pinch the edges to seal. Trim excess dough from the edges, and reserve scarps.
Fold up the edges of dough and crimp decoratively. Let the kulebiaka rise for
15 minutes. Brush the top of pastry with egg glaze made of 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 tsp. milk.

Poke small holes through the top of the dough for steam to escape. Bake
until golden and beautiful, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, cut into
slices, and serve.