Russian Recipes and Cookbooks

• Many cereal crops, including wheat, rye, millet and barley are grown in the rich Russian soil, and these provide the raw materials for breads, pancakes, kvass (a weakly alcoholic "bread drink") as well as bread and vodka.
  
  
• Vegetables include beet, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, rutabagas (yellow turnips) and turnips.
  
  
• Berries, mushrooms and honey are also used, as are meats, poultry, fish and game.

• Borshch - The Russian version of borscht. It is a vegetable soup that is primarily made from bets, although meat, cabbage and potatoes are often added.
  
  
• Shchi - Russia's traditional cabbage soup. This soup comes in many varieties, for example their is a poor-man's version made from only cabbage and onions, and richer versions which add additional ingredients such as meat, carrots, parsley, spices and herbs, as well as apples, smetana (Russian sour cream) or pickle water.
  
  
• Soljanka - This is a thick soup with a sour spicy flavor. The dish always contains pickled cucumbers, and may also include cabbage, cream, dill and salty mushrooms. Mushrooms, meat or fish are also present in the soup.
  
  
  
• Okroshka - This traditional Russian soup is made from kvas (the Russian bread drink), and served cold. There are several varieties of this soup, respectively based around fish, meat or vegetables. In all cases the soup is made from a combination of neutral-tasting vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, rutabagas (yellow turnips) and turnips, together with green onions and other spicy vegetables such as celery,chervil, dill, parsley or tarragon. Spices are often added to the soup, and these may include black pepper, mustard or pickled cucumber.
  
  
• Teur - This soup is very similar to okroshka, however it is made using bread instead of vegetables.
  
  

• Studen (Kholodets) - This is jellied meat (pork or veal) made using spices and a small amount of added vegetables. The meat is boiled for a long-time and the chilled. This dish can be used as a garnish for other dishes, or may be eaten cold, in the latter case it is served with horse radish, mustard or smetana (Russian sour cream).
  
  
• Pirozhki - This dish is similar pie. It is a bun stuffed with a cooked filling. Most fillings include chopped hard-boiled eggs as well as other ingredients. The other ingredients may be mashed potatoes and sour cream, chopped boiled meat, or fish sautéed with onions.
  
  
• Blini - Blini is one of the better known dishes outside of Russia - they are thin pancakes, made from wheat or buckwheat, which are usually served topped with caviar or sour cream (but never both).
  
  
• Katlyeti - These are small meatloves made from beef or pork that are cooked by pan-frying.
  
  
• Shashlyk - Shashlyk is the Russian version of shish kebab (a kebab made using alternating slices of meat and onions) Although not brought into the country until the 19th century, it soon became a popular dish, and remains a popular street food throughout Russia.
  
  
  

• Veal Orloff - This dish was created by Urbain Dubois, who was the chef to Prince Orloff (the Russian ambassador to France). A braised loin of veal is cut thinly into slices, and then the slices are restacked with layers of pureed mushrooms and onions inbetween each slice. The dish is then topped with white sauce and cheese, and browned in the oven.
  
  
  
• Beef Stoganoff - Although the exact origins of this dish remain obscure it is believed to trace its roots to the 19th century. The dish consists of sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce with sour cream.
  
  
• Sharlotka (charlotte russe) - This dessert was created by Marie Antoine Carême, the chef to Czar Alexander I. A mould is lined with lady fingers (small light sponge cakes, each about the size of a finger), and then filled with Bavarian creme, which is a type of thick custard (it is thickened using gelatin).

• Recipes and Cookbooks

The Armenian Table: More than 165 Treasured Recipes that Bring Together Ancient Flavors and 21st-Century Style By Victoria Jenanyan Wise St. Martin's Press Hardcover (320 pages) List Price: $29.95 Lowest New Price: $18.35 Lowest Used Price: $14.10 Usually ships in 24 hours (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here Product Description: A veteran cookbook author returns to her delicious culinary heritage in this savory and passionate recipe collection Victoria Jenanyan Wise grew up with the flavors, scents, and seasonings of Armenian cooking--a cuisine that combines Mediterranean flavors with Persian and Russian accents. In her eleventh cookbook-and her first on Armenian food--Wise collects traditional favorites and inspired contemporary variations. Recipes include: -Lavosh, Armenian pizzas, and other savory breads -Shish kebab, moussaka, and other lamb dishes -Baked and roast chicken prepared with yogurt, dill, turmeric, pomegranate, and more -Grilled mackerel with lemon and dill; red snapper stew with tomato and artichokes -Stuffed vegetables (dolmas) and stuffed grape leaves -Baklava and other fillo-pastry sweets; lemon yogurt cake; almond and rice flour pudding with toasted almond slices, and more. This authentic and warm-hearted cookbook will be met by a ready audience of Armenian-Americans, as well as lovers of Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, and other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.

The Food & Cooking of Russia: Discover the rich and varied character of Russian cuising, in 60 authentic recipes and 300 glorious photographs (The Food and Cooking of) By Elena Makhonko Aquamarine Hardcover (128 pages) List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $19.79 Not yet published (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here Product Description: Discover the rich and varied character of Russian cuisine, in a unique volume offering over 60 authentic dishes that reflect an incredible range of cultural influences

Cooking the Russian Way: Revised and Expanded to Include New Low-Fat and Vegetarian Recipes (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks) By Gregory Plotkin Lerner Publishing Group Hardcover (72 pages; 1) List Price: $25.26 Lowest New Price: $19.99 Lowest Used Price: $8.77 Usually ships in 24 hours (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here

Cuisines of the Caucasus Mountains: Recipes, Drinks, and Lore from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia By Kay Shaw Nelson Hippocrene Books Hardcover (271 pages) List Price: $24.95 Lowest New Price: $11.05 Lowest Used Price: $9.96 Usually ships in 24 hours (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here

Tastes and Tales from Russia By Alla Danishevsky PublishAmerica Paperback (154 pages) List Price: $19.95 Lowest New Price: $18.15 Lowest Used Price: $21.26 (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here Product Description: A good cookbook is a priceless addition for food connoisseurs. This one-of-a-kind cookbook consists of recipes rich in Russian culture and tales of old Russian folklore. Each page features a unique recipe, along with a folklore tale. The whole family can enjoy the taste with the tale. Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Kiev will take the reader back to the glamour and decadence of Czarist Russia. I chose the recipes that have been passed on from my grandmother to my mother, who continues to share them with me. Most of these recipes had never been written down on paper, but rather are cooked from memory. Each and every one brings back the aroma and unique taste from my days growing up in the former Soviet Union to today, when I still enjoy treating my family.

Fort Ross Cookbook: Recipes of Fort Ross and Russia Fort Ross Interpretive Assoc., Inc. Paperback Lowest Used Price: $14.30 (As of 04:42 Pacific 12 May 2008 More Info) Click Here