Tonight as the sun went down at midnight I made a leek, celery root and potato soup. I had no stock and so used the peels and rinds of potatoes, celery root, onion, parsley and garlic (along with a lot of salt, pepper and the ubiquitous bay leaf) to make a veggie stock and I thought it tasted pretty okay. I made a roux with potato flour and regular (I think??Again using pictures) flour with sunflower oil (big here for some reason).
I am sure someone has made a coffee table book entitled "kitchen tools from around the world" and i certainly could have used it before coming here. I am finding some pretty different utensils and vessels, but am having a good time trying to figure out how they work. Well, so that's a start. Hope they like the soup. Next I'm making an Asian slaw and will try to make a pie without an oven thermometer. Hmmmm
Leda
Privet, Leda:
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read your post – it’s like reliving life in Russia! You are making me home sick!
Russian cuisine is not very rich in spices – we mostly use home-grown herbs, such as dill, parsley, etc., so that’s why it’s hard to find spices. Yes, the bay leaf is ubiquitous, perhaps because it’s inexpensive. I think, the colder the climate is, the fewer spices people use.
Ready-to-use stock is also rare – most people make their own. By the way, most Russians are *suspicious* of celery! I still avoid it if I can:) Sunflower oil is great to dress a salad or baked/boiled potatoes with (a simple Russian dish), but it might not be great for cooking because of its distinct taste. They now sell taste-free sunflower oil (рафинированное масло без запаха), so it’s a good cooking alternative.
I am curious to know which utensils you found interesting. Every time I travel to Russia, I try to bring a utensil that is not commonly used here, for example, a manual meat grinder.
It’s common in Russia to cook from scratch, so people rarely know the exact amounts of ingredients or what temperature to cook a dish at. We go by low flame, medium flame, and high flame (most stoves are gas, not electric). For pie baking, it’s best to pre-heat the oven first. If you can, put the pie on the middle rack and bake it under medium flame, checking it from time to time. You can also shift the position of the pie (to a lower rack if the bottom crust needs to be well done, or to a higher rack if the top crust needs to bake well). Yes, it takes some experimenting!
Look forward to reading your next post.
Good luck and happy cooking!
Приятного аппетита!
Liliya