This is my favorite way to eat Shuba Salad with Salmon (Шуба с лососем), a classic Russian salad. Served at celebrations and special events like New Years, Christmas, and even weddings. A layered salad that eats like a meal, and so easy to make. Traditionally Shuba Salad is made with Herring fillets, usually canned in oil,…
Russian Recipes
Mimosa Salad (Mimoza Salata)
There are many ways to make a Russian classic Mimosa Salad (Салат Мимоза). It’s a layered salad found on the table during celebrations, especially Easter or even Christmas or New Years. Like most Russian salads, there is a lot of mayonnaise! It’s similar to Shuba Salad or Herring Under Fur Coat, as both are layered, have…
Mizeria – Creamy Cucumber Salad
Everyone loves a good salad, and this Sour Cream Cucumber Salad will not disappoint! Mum always made this salad using fresh cucumbers picked from the garden. This recipe is of Polish origin called Mizeria, which literally translates to misery. It’s a delicious but basic poor man’s salad with using only sour cream and cucumbers. Some…
Apricot Jam Slice
Russian Apricot Jam Slice (Пирог из дрожжевого теста с вареньем) is an easy rustic pie, and works best with sweet, juicy, ripe apricots. My mum made this every summer during apricot season, sometimes using the leftover apricots from Russian Apricot Piroshki, however in this recipe we are using a homemade Apricot Jam. It’s not a traditional…
Russian Eggplant Caviar
Russian Eggplant Caviar (Баклажанная икра) is a delicious appetizer, generously served on a piece of bread. It’s made from 100% vegetables, without any fish or fish eggs, and isn’t what people think of when they hear the word caviar. It’s kind of hard to screw up this recipe, as there are many variations. I prefer…
Watermelon Jam
Watermelon Jam (Варенье из арбуза) is a jam that was enjoyed across the Soviet Union, especially popular in watermelon growing regions in Central Asia. Jams are so popular in the Russian culture. There is even a jam made from watermelon rind, or a jam made from small pine cones which is healthy to eat when…
Cold Beet Soup – Svekolnik
What do you call Cold Beet Soup? There are a few varieties of cold beet soups in Russia. One of my favourites is this recipe is called Svekolnik – Cold Borscht (Свекольник) is a Russian summer favorite soup. It’s a variation of the much loved Russian Borscht soup, but made without cabbage, usually vegan and…
Shanezhki – Russian Cheese Pastry with Strawberries
This Shanezhki (Шанежки) Russian Cheese Pastry recipe is a mouthful to pronounce, but so delicious to eat! A sweet yeast dough topped with a slightly tart tvorog and strawberries reminds me of eating fresh baked goods at my babushka’s house. What are Shanezhki? Shanezhki are yeast dough bakery product, usually made with potato or Tvorog…
Hungarian Stuffed Peppers
Hungarian Stuffed Peppers (töltött paprika) are a family favorite, relatively easy to make and full of flavour! It’s summertime and that means my garden is overflowing with lots of sweet Paprika peppers, perfect for this recipe. It’s an Eastern European favorite, and reminds me a bit of Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, except using cabbage, it’s made with Paprika…
Fried Eggplant
Fried Eggplant Slices (Жареные баклажаны) is a simple and rustic dish from my childhood. We had a large backyard garden and we had rows of vegetables growing, including eggplants. It was usually in the late summer that mom would make the different eggplant recipes. How Do You Eat Eggplant? Some people don’t know how to…
Edible Dyed Easter Eggs with Red Cabbage
Coloring Easter eggs is a wonderful tradition I grew up with. Dying Easter Eggs with Red Cabbage will produce a natural purple dye, which colors your eggs into shades of blue. It’s a strange color thing that happens, I’m sure there is a scientific reason why, but all I care about is the cool blue easter…
Russian Easter eggs
How to Dye Eggs with Onion Skins Dyeing Russian Easter Eggs with onion skins is a popular way to dye eggs in Russia, former Soviet states and Orthodox countries. The color is meant to come out red, which symbolizes the blood of Christ, and the hard shell symbolizes the tomb. When dyeing eggs with onion skins, the colors…
Cranberry Juice Recipe
Homemade Cranberry Juice is a popular drink in Russia, commonly made from Cranberries and Lingonberries. In Russian, its called Mors Drink (морс), and can be made with other northern forest berries such as black and red currants, raspberries, blueberries and even strawberries. It’s almost interchangeable with Lingonberry Juice or Cranberry Juice as they are similar…
Russian Shashlik Recipe
Everyone loves a secret Shashlik Recipe, (Шашлык) usually passed down from family to family. It’s a type of shish kebab meat skewer popular in Russia and Central Asia and around the world. Some other popular skewered meats are Japanese Yakitori, Asian Satay, and Greek Souvlaki. Everything from Kefir to Vinegar to Pomegranate Juice is used…
Finnish Salmon Soup
Finnish Salmon Soup (Финская уха) or Lohikeitto, is delicious and creamy Salmon soup, popular across Scandinavia and Northwestern Russia. Usually made Salmon heads and bones for the broth, this soup is delicious and full of vitamins and minerals. In Russia, this style of soup is called Ukha, which is the clear broth version of this soup….
Classic Herring Under a Fur Coat
Selyodka Pod Shuboy (Селедка под шубой) literally translates to Herring Under a Fur Coat or Shuba. It’s a much loved Russian meal especially popular during New Year celebrations. A Russian shuba is a warm winter fur coat worn in Russia for hundreds of years. Herring Under a Fur Coat consists of layered potato, herring, carrots, beets,…
Russian Sugar Cookies
These Russian Sugar Cookies (Молочные коржики) bring back great childhood memories of my mum making freshly baked cookies for me, usually devoured with a glass of cold milk after school. I think everyone has great memories of their mum’s baking cookies, whether it was American Monster Cookies or Russian Honey Pryaniki, cookies are universal. I remember my babushka…
Buckwheat Porridge
Buckwheat Porridge with Milk, sometimes called Buckwheat Kasha, is a popular breakfast meal across Russia. Actually anything buckwheat is staple in the Russian kitchen. Japanese soba noodles are also made with buckwheat. Buckwheat apparently helps lower bad cholesterol, is high in protein, and is gluten free and low GI. Russia is the worlds biggest producer of…
Fish Head Soup – Russian Ukha
What is Ukha? Ukha Fish Head Soup (Уха) is a rustic Russian soup that has been eaten for hundreds of years. Traditionally fishermen cook this outdoors in a pot, over an open fire. In the summer, we would go trout fishing and make this soup while camping. While that can be still done today, most of…
Kotleti with Podlivka
Kotleti with Podlivka is a comfort food enjoyed by Russians for generations. You got the comfort food trifecta, meat, carbs and sauce. Kotleti are like Russian Meatballs or Rissoles, or something in between. Kotleti with Podlivka, is a whole other level of meaty goodness. I have 2 kotleti recipes you can make, Classic Beef Kotleti…
Vegetarian Cabbage Soup – Shchi
Vegetarian Cabbage Soup is a flavorful and healthier way to eat Russian Shchi Soup. There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of homemade soup on a cold day, or when you’re not feeling well. Vegan and vegetarian soups are full of flavor, especially if you make the stock properly. You won’t even realize you’re eating…
Asian Chili Sauce Lazadzhan
Laza Hot Sauce, also known as the unpronounceable Lazadzhan (Лазаджан), is a traditional Uyghur Asian Chili Sauce. It’s best eaten with Lagman Noodle Stir Fry, but also with Manti Steamed Dumplings, Funchoza, Ashlyamfu, or really with anything that could benefit from a chili hot sauce. My wife loves eating it with her Aussie meat pie, it…
Blini Stuffed with Meat
Blinchiki, Crepes, Blintzes or Blini Stuffed with Meat (Stuffed Crepes)are very common in Russia and across Eastern Europe, and are eaten at any time of day or alongside a large meal. Of course eating them plain with sour cream is a given, but stuffing them adds a whole new dimension. Blini are easy to make, check out the recipe…
Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin
This Sweet Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Recipe (тыква запеченная с корицей) is an simple, rustic dessert, one I remember my mum making. We grew up with a very large garden, several actually on the same property, which provided more than enough home grown, organic fruits and vegetables. We planted in the spring, after the snow melted,…
Gluhwein Recipe (Глинтвейн)
Gluhwein recipe is a hot wine drink that is enjoyed in Germanic speaking countries, usually during winter months, and during Christmas. Mulled wine is the popular name for this drink in the UK, but it has many names across the world. Common names you might have heard is Nordic Glögg, Brazilian quentão, French vin chaud, in Poland graze wino, and so on across the world. In…
Okroshka with Kvas
Okroshka with Kvas is a Russian summer soup that is served cold. Think of gazpacho, which is probably the most famous other cold soup that people recognise. It’s a great soup when your garden is full of vegetables, and the weather is hot, but might be an acquired taste. Ok, it’s a love it or…
Hvorost Rozantsi
Hvorost Rozantsi (Розанцы) are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted round rose ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Across different cultures in Europe, variations of this dessert are known as Angel Wings, Crostoli, Faworki, Raderkuchen, Bugnes, Hvorost and more. The Russian dessert, Hvorost (Хворост) means Brushwood, which is…
Homemade Beet Borscht Recipe
This Russian Borscht recipe (Красный борщ) is an authentic soup recipe. It’s made without many of the strange additions and shortcuts you can find in many borscht soups today. Don’t be fooled with weird additions, trying to pass off as traditional borsch recipes. I’ve heard people added Ketchup, added brown sugar, and even balsamic vinegar,…
Ashlyamfu Salad
Ashlyamfu (Ашлямфу) or sometime called Ashlyan Fu is the national dish of the Uyghur and Dungan people. They are the indigenous people of Eastern Turkestan, which is now the state of Xinjiang, China. This is the place where my parents were born Northwest China, before it became a communist country in 1949. I share a bit more of…
Baked Potato Piroshki
Baked Potato Piroshki are simply the plural form of the Russian word pirozhok, meaning small pie. This recipe is a bunch of small meat pies, but adding everyones favourite carb, the potato. They are also sometimes called Pirozhki, or Pīrāgi, depending of what part of Eastern Europe you’re from. They were introduced by the USSR…
