Cooking Russia Moscow
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Russian cuisine is very varied as the many different sorts of soup prove; or the thousand and one way to marinate vegetables, mushrooms and berries; the multiple influences come from the old Eastern and Western provinces. Breakfast is generally very substantial (cheese and cold cuts). Lunch and dinner start with a 'borsch' or a 'schi' (stock based vegetable soup) and 'zakouskis' (varied starters): cold meat, sausage, salt or smoked fish (herring, salmon, sturgeon, sprats). To this are added tomato or cucumber salads, marinated and seasoned vegetables. Main courses consist of roast or grilled meat, meatballs, stuffed fish or chicken, served with rice, potatoes, cabbage, buckwheat and pelmenis (ravioli in fresh cream). Among the more famous dishes are the 'chprotis' (smoked fish in oil), 'salianka' (sauerkraut), 'chachliks' (Caucasian meat kebabs), 'pirojkis' (savoury or sweet stuffed doughnuts). The very reputable black caviar (belouga, ossietra or sevrouga) is spread on blinis and served with vodka.