By Russian Revels
Amongst all church-related holidays in the Soviet Russia, Easter was the most resilient and remembered as all the others were prohibited and hence forgotten. Christmas day had gone into oblivion; we couldn’t even remember, when asked, what had been served…
By Russian Revels
Where do you buy ‘our’ - nash - bread? is the question I often heard when still new to these shores. Myself being weakly dissatisfied with the ‘wonder bread’ of supermarkets. Yearning for the bread I could sink my teeth into. Black…
By Russian Revels
Georgian cuisine in Soviet Union was always viewed as something like French cooking in Western Europe. Or perhaps more like Tuskan leaning Italian actually. Sophisticated, exquisite, generous. Both hugely desired and, well, envied. I find it quite curious that these…
By Russian Revels
This ‘caviar’ used to be amongst the only products always available in the good old days of Soviet Union. So more-ish nevertheless. When I was little I could never understand why the mixture is dark red/brown! Long stewing, addition of…
By Russian Revels
There is a little story about the birth of this pie - now, frankly, legendary (says Katrina!) on all Russian Revels events. When Karina’s mum used to make Borscht (or borsch?? ahh) she first sautéed the beetroot with the vegetables…
By Russian Revels
Soups to Russians is like a good Sunday roast to Brits – part of our cultural dna. We wither away without a daily helping of a soup of some kind. Mothers tell their offspring that without a soup they won’t…
By Russian Revels
After almost 16 years of living in this country I have finally found it. The light, sweet, intoxicating white stuff that makes me - and many a Russian - smile dreamily and make our eyes go all misty with memories…
By Russian Revels
Until the age of 10 I lived in what many dreamily how recall as the Soviet courtyard. I have most vivid recollections of lazit za kryzhovnikom - sort of climbing into and around gooseberry bushes, lazily picking them up, plonking them into my mouth, chatting to girlfriends.
By Russian Revels
Solenya is a Russian word for any salted (sol is salt of course) vegetables. the English ‘pickles’ doesn’t quite convey the same breadth of meaning. The sheer variety of uses and processes that Slavs endue their salted staff. In Slavic…
By Russian Revels
Round, golden, doughy and moorishly addictive KOLOBKI rolled out to our table from a Russian Fairytale. The original recipe version of Kolobok was quite frugal. An old woman, Babka, in those days any woman over 50 was rated as old,…