The Monster Island Theater Russian Recipes

Shchi (Russian Cabbage Soup)

Begin by soaking the mushrooms in water. In a large Dutch oven, melt 3 Tablespoons of butter over medium high heat, then toss in the cabbage and sauerkraut and sauté for 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste and 1 cup or so of stock, cover, and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, squeeze the mushrooms dry and slice finely. Melt the other 3 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet and sauté the carrot, onions, celery, turnips, and mushrooms until soft and slightly brown, about 15 minutes. Seed and chop the tomatoes, reserving them.

When the sauerkraut and cabbage are nicely stewed, stir in the sauteéd vegetables, the tomatoes, and the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat--cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook 5 more minutes.

Let stand at least 15 minutes, but ideally a day or so in the refrigerator to cure. When ready to serve, reheat slowly. Ladle into bowls and garnish with spoonsful of dilled sour cream.

Recipe courtesy of Soup of the Evening... Beautiful Soup

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Blini with Sour Cream and Caviar

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Add all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, and salt, then stir in milk, 3 tablespoons butter, and eggs. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of warm water. Let rise in a warm place until dough is increased in volume, has bubbles breaking the surface, and is stringy when scooped, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir batter before using.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot and brush with some of remaining melted butter (if butter browns immediately, lower heat). Working in batches of 4, spoon 1 tablespoon batter into skillet for each blin, then cook, turning over once, until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof platter and keep blini warm in oven.

Serve blini topped with sour cream and caviar.

Cook's note:
Batter can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered (after letting it rise in a warm place). If necessary, thin batter with a few teaspoons of milk before using.

Makes 36 hors d'œuvres.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com

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Pirozhkis

Pastry
Stir together the flour and salt. With a pastry blender of two table knives, cut the shortening and butter into the flour until particles are about the size of small peas. Break egg into a glass measuring cup and add enough water to make 1/2 cup liquid; beat lightly.

Stirring flour mixture lightly and quickly with a fork, sprinkle on the egg mixture, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Continue stirring until dough forms a ball and almost cleans the sides of the bowl.

Gather mixture into a ball; shape into a rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Filling
Sprinkle salt into a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in beef; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Sitr in mushrooms and cook until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are soft (about 5 more minutes). Add dill weed and half-and-half; cook, stirring until all liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in eggs and parsley. Season to taste with pepper.

Cut pastry dough in half, then cut each half into 4 equal pieces. Shape dough pieces into balls; roll each ball out on a floured board to a 7-inch round. Place about 1/2 cup of the meat filling on half of each round, spreading it to within 1/2 inch of edges; then lightly moisten edges of dough with water. Fold other half over to enclose filling. With a fork, press edges together to seal; prick top in several places. With a knife, trim off excess dough to form an even half moon.

Using a wide spatula, transfer pirozhkis to an ungreased baking sheet, placing them 1 inch apart. Bake in a 425° over for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Makes 8 pirozhkis.

Recipe courtesy of Easy Basics for International Cooking, by the Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine.

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Vinegret (Mixed Vegetable Salad)

Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender, about 30 minutes, depending on their size. Drain and allow to cool slightly.

In a separate pan, boil the beet in water to cover until just tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly.

While the potatoes and beet are boiling, prepare the rest of the salad. Place the diced cucumber, scallions, eggs, pickle, olives, and capers in a large bowl. When the potatoes and beet are cool enough to handle, peel and dice them. Add to the vegetables in the bowl, stirring to mix well. Stir in the minced dill.

To make the dressing, stir together the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until an emulsion has been formed. Pour over the vegetables, mixing well.

Chill the salad for at least one hour to allow the flavors to blend (the salad improves on standing). Test for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or vinegar, if necessary. Serve garnished with sprigs of fresh dill.

Serves 8.

Recipe courtesy of The Winter Vegetarian, by Darra Goldstein

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Salmon Kulebiaka

Pastry:
In large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Gradually add water, gently tossing, then pressing ingredients together to form ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:
In saucepan, combine rice and water. Cover, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender and water has evaporated- about 20 minutes. Uncover, and using fork, toss lightly with 2 tbsp butter. Let cool. In skillet, melt remainin butter; saute onions and mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Skin salmon and remove any small bones. Separate yolks from whites and chop each into 1/4 inch cubes. On floured pastry cloth, roll out dough to 18 x 15 inch rectangle. Trim edges neatly, reserving all scraps of dough. Fold dough in half lengthwise. Transfer to centre of large baking sheet. Fold back to half of pastry so it extends over edge of sheet. Spread rice along the bottom half of pastry on sheet, leaving a 1 inch border. Season this with and all following layers with salt and pepper to taste. Spread onion-mushroom mixture over rice, then salmon, trimming to make fillets approximately the same thickness. Sprinkle with dill, then yolks, then whites.

Glaze:
Whisk together egg and milk and brush some of the glaze onto the three narrow pastry edges around filling. Fold remaining pastry over filling; press edges together and fold under neatly. Cut 2 steam holes equidistant from ends. Gather up pastry scraps, roll out again and cut into the shape of holly leaves. Brush gently with some of the glaze and arrange over pastry. Use diced red pepper for berries. Reserve remaining glaze. Chill Kulebiaka, lightly covered for at least 1 hour. Brush with remaining glaze and bake in 400F oven for 1 hour or until golden. Transfer to serving platter, garnish with dill or parsley.

To serve; cut into 1 1/2 inch thick slices.

Sauce:
Heat together butter, lemon juice and white wine. Serve on the side.

Recipe courtesy of Authentic Russian Recipes, Cuisine and Cooking.

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Kirsov's Pudding

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 2 qt. baking dish. Beat eggs, add the molasses or honey, melted butter & salt. Stir in the grated sweet potatos. Pour this mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 2 hours or until the pudding is a dark, caramel color. Be sure to grate the sweet potatos just befor using them as they will turn dark and not look as appetizing when cooked.

Serves 6.

Recipe courtesy of RecipeSource.

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Hot White Russian

In a saucepan stir together the coffee, the 1/2 cup cream, the Kahlúa, and the vodka and heat the mixture over moderate heat until it is hot. Divide the mixture among heated mugs and garnish each drink with some of the whipped cream.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com

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