Russian Recipes

Russian cooking grew out of a cold climate, long religious fasts and a huge territory. Rye bread, buckwheat, cabbage, beets, potatoes and mushrooms carry the everyday table, and the soups are what most people picture first: borscht, shchi, solyanka and the cold summer okroshka. Dairy is central, especially sour cream (smetana), kefir and fresh curd cheese (tvorog), which end up in pancakes, fritters and dumplings. Pelmeni, pirozhki and blini show a love of dough wrapped around a filling, while pickles, salted herring and smoked fish fill the appetizer spread known as zakuski. Home cooks rely on dill, parsley, bay leaf and garlic rather than hot spice. Festive tables bring Olivier salad and herring under a fur coat at New Year, blini at Maslenitsa and kulich with paskha at Easter. Tea with jam, honey cake or a sweet pie ends most meals.

Staple ingredients

• rye bread
• buckwheat
• cabbage and beets
• potatoes
• sour cream (smetana)
• tvorog (fresh curd cheese)
• dill
• wild and cultivated mushrooms

• Breakfast 4
• Appetizers 2
• Soups 6
• Salads 4
• Main Dishes 9
• Breads 1
• Desserts 6
• Snacks 1
• Drinks 2

Breakfast

• Blini (Russian Thin Pancakes)RU45 minEasy
• Mannaya Kasha (Russian Semolina Porridge)RU15 minEasy
• Oladyi (Russian Thick Kefir Pancakes)RU35 minEasy
• Syrniki (Russian Curd Cheese Pancakes)RU30 minEasy

Appetizers

• Baklazhannaya Ikra (Russian Eggplant Caviar)RU1 h 25 minEasy
• Kholodets (Russian Jellied Meat)RU6 h 30 minMedium

Soups

• Borscht (Russian Beet and Beef Soup)RU2 h 15 minMedium
• Okroshka (Russian Cold Summer Soup)RU55 minEasy
• Rassolnik (Russian Pickle and Barley Soup)RU2 h 5 minMedium
• Shchi (Russian Cabbage Soup)RU2 hEasy
• Solyanka (Russian Sour and Savory Meat Soup)RU2 h 15 minMedium
• Ukha (Russian Clear Fish Soup)RU1 h 25 minMedium

Salads

• Olivier Salad (Russian Potato and Pickle Salad)RU1 h 5 minEasy
• Mimosa Salad (Russian Layered Fish and Egg Salad)RU1 h 5 minEasy
• Selyodka pod Shuboy (Herring Under a Fur Coat)RU1 h 45 minMedium
• Vinegret (Russian Beet and Potato Salad)RU1 h 25 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Beef Stroganoff (Russian Beef in Sour Cream Sauce)RU45 minMedium
• Pelmeni (Russian Meat Dumplings)RU1 h 30 minMedium
• Golubtsy (Russian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)RU2 h 10 minMedium
• Grechka s Gribami (Buckwheat with Mushrooms and Onions)RU50 minEasy
• Kotlety (Russian Pan-Fried Meat Patties)RU55 minEasy
• Myaso po-Frantsuzski (Russian Baked Pork with Potatoes and Cheese)RU1 h 45 minMedium
• Ryba pod Marinadom (Fish Under Carrot and Onion Marinade)RU1 h 5 minMedium
• Kulebyaka (Russian Salmon and Rice Pie)RU1 h 30 minMedium
• Zharkoe (Russian Pot Roast with Potatoes)RU2 h 15 minEasy

Breads

• Kulich (Russian Easter Bread)RU1 h 20 minChallenging

Desserts

• Medovik (Russian Honey Layer Cake)RU1 h 45 minMedium
• Napoleon Cake (Russian Custard Layer Cake)RU2 h 25 minChallenging
• Paskha (Russian Easter Curd Cheese Dessert)RU50 minMedium
• Sharlotka (Russian Apple Sponge Cake)RU1 h 5 minEasy
• Kisel (Russian Berry Starch Pudding)RU25 minEasy
• Pryaniki (Russian Spiced Honey Cookies)RU55 minEasy

Snacks

• Pirozhki (Russian Baked Filled Buns)RU1 h 20 minMedium

Drinks

• Kvas (Russian Fermented Rye Bread Drink)RU45 minEasy
• Mors (Russian Cranberry Fruit Drink)RU25 minEasy