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masha-cooks

Blini – Russian Pancakes

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Blini is a traditional dish of Russian cuisine. The cooking  process might seem intimidating with all the
flipping and swirling. To solve this problem I have organized a blini workshop. It was a total success: everyone who participated made a discovery that it is fast and easy and doesn’t require expensive pans (dah!).
Many recipes and traditions have been linked to Russian
pancakes but one thing remains unaltered – these small, tasty symbols of the sun are still loved and eaten everywhere. 

Here is  my the basic recipe.

Cooking time: 35 min
Servings: 16-20

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (200 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 Tbsp sugar
  • 1¾ cups (400 ml) milk
  • 2/3 cup (150 ml) water
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 50 grams melted butter
  • pinch of salt

Directions

Sift the four in a large bowl and add a pinch of salt. Make
a small hole in the middle and break eggs inside. While whisking the eggs while
add flour from the sides. Combine milk, warm water and sugar in a separate cup.
Poor gradually to the flour mixture. I use ladle to break the lumps against the
bowl. Small lumps are ok. Set batter aside to rest for 20 minutes. Add 2
tablespoons of vegetable oil. The batter should be runny.

Now, preheat an 8-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. I
usually cook with 2 pans to speed up the process. Lightly brush the pan with
melted butter. Pour 1 full ladle or 1/3 cup batter into the hot pan, twirling
the pan so the batter spreads out evenly into a very thin layer. Cook about 40-60
seconds until the crepe comes away from the sides of the pan. Gently flip the
crepe over with your fingers or the help of a thin spatula and continue cooking
another 40 seconds. Transfer to a plate, brush with melted butter and repeat
cooking blini until all the batter is used.

Now
the blini can be filled and topped to your liking. My favorite fillings are
smoked salmon, cottage cheese with raspberry jam and sweet ricotta with
raisins. 

Sharlotka – Russian Apple Pie

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Sharlotka is a light and fluffy Russian apple cake. It is so fast and easy to make that we call it guests-at-your-doorsteps cake. Every cook in Russia has its own recipe. In my version, I use tart apples that complement the sweetness of the batter nicely. One time, my friend Vova who likes the cake so much, had no shame stealing it from my cupboard where I purposely hidden it from him. 

Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Portions: 8

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, quartered and thinly
    sliced
  • 2 sticks melted butter (200 grams)
  •  300 grams flour
  •  ¾ cup of sugar
  •  ¾ cup of milk
  •  2 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  •  pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat the
oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and side of a 9×9-inch pan.

In a medium size bowl mix together the dry
ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat
the eggs, melted butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes.

Add dry mixture into the large bowl,
alternating with ¾ cup of milk. This way you avoid lumps in the batter.

Now, pour the batter into the baking dish.  Place the apples on top of the batter lightly
pressing in. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until the top starts getting
brown. Enjoy warm.

Khachapuri – Georgian Cheese Bread

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Cooking time: 50 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes
Portions: 12  

Khachapuri was a popular street food in Moscow when I was a student. I used to buy this homemade pastry in college as I was walking back to the student dorm rooms. The Georgian clerk was always flirting with me in his southern accent, and offered to give me a ride home while giving me change. As it turned out, he had been flirting with all my girlfriends. Nevertheless, I had to stop buying this delicious pastry from that shop…..but many, many years later, I learned to make it on my own. 

Khachapuri has many layers of puffed pastry dough with cheese filing in between. Here is my adaptation of this recipe: 2 layers of dough with one layer of filling. It takes some skill, but it is definitely worth the effort!

The essential ingredient for the dough is tvorog (Russian ricotta cheese). For the filling: suluguni cheese (lightly salted feta or mozzarella.) You can buy both of them at any Russian store or European Deli. If you don’t feel adventurous, just get ricotta for the dough and mild feta or Muenster cheese for filling.

Ingredients:

  • 250 gram of tvorog or strained ricotta cheese
  • 150 gram of soften butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 250 gram of suluguni
  • 1 Tbsp of sour cream
  • 1 clove of garlic, pressed

Directions

Make the dough first by mixing together soften butter, ricotta, one egg, salt and baking powder with a mixer on low. Finish by kneading the dough slightly on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in two parts and wrap with plastic. Place in fridge. 

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Grade the cheese in a medium size bowl, add one egg, 1 table spoon of sour cream and press the garlic clove. Mix thoroughly. You can do all the prep work a day ahead.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease the baking sheet. On a floured surface, roll one part of the dough. It usually rolls very smooth so don’t press too much to avoid making holes. Even if it happens you can start all over. I get mine about 22 inches in diameter, not too thin. Then I transfer it on the baking sheet with a roller pin.

Then spread the filling, leaving half inch space along the edges. Roll the second part of the dough same size as the previous one and place on top with the help of a roller pin as well.

Now pinch the edges together. Using pastry brush wash a lightly beaten egg and poke holes with fork here and there so the hot air can get away.

Bake for 40-45 minutes till the top gets golden brown.

Let it cool before serving. Khachapuri tastes great with any vegetable soup and sweet hot tea.