Category Archives: Russian Recipes

Borsch

Many Borsch recipes include beets in them. The familiar Borsch that we grew up with and that we had at Molokan Church Meals did not have beets in it. Here is my mother’s recipe.

Nadia’s Borsch

For the Stock:
1 Chuck Roast (with bone would be good)
1 onion
1-3 celery stalks with leaves
2-3 carrots
2 bay leaves
5-10 peppercorns
Salt to taste

In a big stock pot, cover chuck roast with good water. Add all the stock ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer until roast is fork tender. Strain the stock. Reserve the roast.

1 head of cabbage shredded (green is what we use)
1-3 carrots grated
1-2 onions diced
1 bell pepper diced

2-3 stalks of celery diced

(saute the bell pepper, onion, celery and jalapeno then blend before adding to stock)
2-3 potatoes diced
2 cans stewed tomatoes blended in blender (we have those that don’t like chunky tomatoes)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2-small bunch of dill (to taste)
1 handful of chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
optional – 1 can of Garbonzo beans
option #2 – add a small jalapeno diced to the saute group above.

Put the strained broth back into a stock pot. Add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer until cabbage and carrots are tender. Taste and see if the soup needs more salt or pepper at this time.

The Borsch is ready now.

My mother doesn’t include this in her recipe but when she made borsch at my house once I saw her add a half a cube of unsalted butter at the end. 🙂 My mother mashes most of the potatoes to thicken up the soup a bit.

You can bake the chuck roast with a little of the stock, salt, pepper, and sauteeed onions to serve alongside the borsch with a good loaf of bread and of course…sour cream. This was my welcome home meal for my kids last night.

 

Russian Noodle Soup ~ Lopsha

This soup (Lopsha) is made in huge quantities for Molokan Church Dinners. I have recipes to serve 200-250 people. They make their own noodles using 20 dozen eggs, 60 lbs. flour and 1 lb. salt, then make a stock from 35 lbs. of soup bones and 350 lbs of choice (kosher) beef. Usually Lopsha is served at funerals and Borscht (recipe coming soon) is made for Weddings. This is basic Russian Peasant Village Fare. I’m giving you a very simple quick recipe that you should enjoy. My family is not Molokan (we left the church in the ’60’s) We still have relatives and friends that are a part of this group.

All you’ll need is store bought (or home made) Chicken Broth and Jewish very fine egg noodles. ( Manischewitz or similar)

Bring the broth to a boil.

Add as many noodles as you like, but remember they expand while cooking. When the noodles are cooked the Lopsha is ready. Adjust your noodles as to how thick you like your Lopsha. If your soup gets too thick for your liking just add some more broth.

If you want a little more interest in the soup you can add cubed potatoes and carrots to the broth to cook them before you add the noodles. If you want those carrots and potatoes to be a lot tastier saute them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper before you add them to the broth.  Happy memories! If you want to see more yummy food, see what my mom was doing while I was making Lopsha, over at my sister’s blog.

The Molokans also make Maloshni Lopsha (Milk noodles) This recipe serves 30-40 people. Cut it down for your purposes. This Soup comes from my Recipes of San Francisco Russian Molokans cookbook that “Dear” and I received as a wedding gift in 1974.

 

Maloshni Lopsha (Milk noodles)

1-1/2 gallons milk

1 quart half and half

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

1-1/2 “chashki” noodles (about 5 LARGE handfuls)

Using a 2-1/2 gal. double boiler (another good reason to cut the recipe…who has a 2-1/2 gallon double boiler??), heat the milk and half and half till it forms bubbles. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Now add the salt and sugar and stir well. Start adding the noodles, a handful at a time, stirring often. Simmer gently for 1/2 hour. Turn flame off and cover. Let stand in double boiler till it thickens (about 30-45 min.) and serve.

HT: Recipes of San Francisco Russian Molokans (for Maloshni Lopsha) , Bagdanov Family Recipes for Easy Lopsha

Blintzes

This is Nadia, she’s not making blintzes here. This was a photo from the 80’s in Wildomar for our Easter gathering.

Nadia’s  Blintzes

6 eggs
4 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp. oil

Scald the milk. Beat the eggs. Slowly add the milk to the eggs while continuing beating. Add salt, sugar and oil, beat until blended. Slowly beat in the flour until combined.

I use two 10″ heavy Teflon pans to cook the blintzes. You might want to just start with one till you get this process down. Heat the pan. Coat the pan lightly with oil. (I use a piece of cheesecloth to coat the pan with oil and if needed I’ll coat again into the cooking process). Use a 1/3 cup measure to dip into the mixing bowl (you don’t have to fill to the top just use a uniform measure of the liquid for each blintz) Pour into frying pan and swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly.

 

Cook until the blintz turns a nice golden brown. With a spatula loosen the edges and flip the blintz and brown on the other side. Remove from pan and let cool on a dish cloth.

Repeat the process. Sometimes the only hindrance to these flipping and cooking well is the temperature of the pan. You’ll have to experiment to get it at the magic temp. Start at medium.  After the blintzes are cooled you can stack them. They can be frozen at this time if you would like. This recipe will make approximately 24 blintzes.

 

Cheese filling for the blintzes:
1- cartons of ricotta cheese (8 oz. size)
(You can also use cottage cheese, hoop cheese or farmers cheese)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tbsp. sugar.
you will also need a small carton of half and half and a stick of butter (1/2 cup)

Beat all the ingredients till smooth except half and half and stick of butter. Spread about 1 Tablespoon of cheese onto one side of blintz. Roll up and place in a 9×13 baking dish. They can be layered. Melt one cube of butter and pour over the blintzes. Bake in 350 degree oven until heated through. Heat up to 8 oz. of Half and Half until is is warm but not boiling. Pour half and half over blintzes to cover and continue baking until half and half boils. Remove from oven and serve with sour cream and preserves or syrup.

For a savory filling:

Saute 1 large onion in oil and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 lb. hamburger (15%) and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dice enough broccoli to make 2 cups. Steam until broccoli just turns bright green. Combine meat, broccoli and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and heat through. Scoop about 2-3 T of mixture onto blintz and fold in the sides to form a square. Place in a baking dish. Melt butter and poor over the filled blintzes. Bake in a 350 to 375 degree oven until heated through. Serve and if you want to make additional sauce you can serve extra sauce with the savory blintzes. Oh I almost forgot, you can serve these with sour cream if you’d like, also. Enjoy Deena!

HT: Bagdanov Family Cookbook

 

 

Golubtzi with Smetana (Stuffed Cabbage with Sour Cream Sauce)

Nadejda’s Golubtzi with Smetana (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Sour Cream Sauce)

This is a recipe from my mom that my sister Vera has tweaked and published. My mom is always updating her recipes and just when we think we have them down she adds a little twist, always trying to improve the taste. If you are a Russian who has strayed away from home and good home cooking try this and be ready to be taken back in time! Any Russian Molokans or Russian Baptists out there who are looking for long lost recipes, I’ll be posting some over the next several weeks. As always there are several varieties to this recipe and others depending on where your roots began. The great thing about this post and picture is that I planned to post this recipe for Golubtzi tonight and when I was at my mom and dads today my mom sent her Golubtzi home with me for “Dear” and I for dinner. I’m sitting here at my computer ready to hit the publish button with a bowl full of Golubtzi!

2 lbs. Hamburger
1 – 1/2 cup cooked rice (1/2 cup uncooked)
1/2 onion grated
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 can tomato soup
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 onion chopped
1-1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups water
1 head cabbage

Core cabbage. You can carefully separate leaves or cook the cabbage whole. Boil in water until soft and pliable. Combine first 6 ingredients. Place about 1/3 Cup of the hamburger mixture onto a cabbage leaf and fold over the edges and roll up. Place in a baking dish. We use standard glass pyrex or other rectangular baking dishes to bake them in.

 

Fry the onion in oil until it is translucent. Add soup, sauce, ketchup and water. Stir until well mixed. Bring to a boil. Add a little of sauce to the sour cream to temper it, then add the sour cream mixture to the sauce. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 1-1/2 hours.

You can eat these as a complete meal or add whatever side dish you might enjoy in combination with the Golubtzi. Yum my mouth is watering. Some extra tips included below to make the rolling process easier.

Shave the larger veins on the smaller leaves of cabbage so they’ll roll easier.

 

Yes, you can stuff peppers, too. We usually use green peppers. Don’t forget to put a dish of Sour Cream (Smetana) on the table so you can add another dollop to your serving. Sour cream is our butter.

Kulich – Russian Easter Bread

My mother makes Kulich (Russian Easter Bread) and Sernaya Paska (a yummy sweet cheese, cream spread) every Easter. The white pyramid looking thing with the cross on it is the Sernaya Paska. I don’t have a special mold so mine looks like a rounded dome. I’m including a recipe for the spread and a link to a recipe for Kulich. We eat the bread with the paska or slather it with sour-cream. My mom’s is the best and we’ve documented how she makes it and hopefully we’ll continue the tradition. You use empty, clean, 1 or 2 lb. coffee tins to bake the bread in.

Update for Easter 2008 ~ I’ll be adding my mother’s recipe for Kulich before Easter this year. Click here for the recipe.

Sernaya Paska

Ingredients:   18 – hard boiled eggs / 3 pounds Farmers cheese / 1 pint whipping cream / 3 cubes unsalted butter (12 oz.) / 3 cups sugar /

Press the Farmers cheese through a sieve. (This is the hardest part of the recipe) I usually use a wooden spoon and press it through a wire strainer a little at a time. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. (You will not be using the whites). Press the egg yolks through the sieve. Cream the sugar and butter together. Beat in the egg yolks. Beat in the cheese. Add whipping cream and mix well. You will place the mixture into a strainer lined with about 3 layers of cheesecloth. You will need enough cheesecloth to wrap up and over the top of the cheese. Place the cheese mixture into the cheese cloth lined strainer. Bring the ends of the cheese cloth up and tie the ends on top of the cheese in a knot. Place the sieve into a larger bowl suspended with enough room for the cheese to drain without sitting in the drained liquid. Place a plate on top of the cheese an place a heavy rock, brick, or other weight on top of the plate. Refrigerate over night.

Update #1: I used a plastic flower pot for my Seerney Paska and added more holes to the bottom. I got the shape I wanted and it drained well.

New tip: Use a potato ricer instead of a wire strainer for the egg yolks.

Update #2: This Sernaya Paska recipe is for a huge amount (enough for my huge extended family). If you just want a normal amount, cut the recipe in thirds. (6 cooked egg yolks, 1-lb. cheese, 2/3 cup whipping cream, 1 cube butter and 1 cup sugar. Enjoy!

Tip #2: If you don’t get around to baking Kulich you can substitute a good Panettone for the bread. Hard to find this time of year because most stores stock it at Christmas, not Easter. If you are fortunate to have a Italian food store near you they seem to stock it year round. I bought the most plain one I could find (not easy) It had raisens and candied orange and lemon bits in it. It was a good substitute nevertheless!

ht: Vera Titov/Nadia Bagdanov ~ recipe for Sernaya Paska