Cooking

RUSSIAN DESSERTS

VARENIKI WITH CHERRIES

Ingredients

  • 1 lbs. + 12 oz. fresh cherries, pitted and halved
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour + extra for rolling out dough
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ¾ cup + 1 Tbsp. cold water
  • Salt for cooking vareniki

Instructions

Cherry Filling

  1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 pound of cherries with ½ cup sugar; mix and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or until cherries release their juices.

Dough & Vareniki

  1. In a large bowl, combine sifted flour and salt; add ¾ cups of cold water. Mix with a spoon until the dough comes together then using your hands knead the dough until throughly mixed and no lumps are visible. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Keep the dough not being used covered so it wont dry out.
  1. Roll out the dough on a thoroughly floured surface until ¼” – ⅛” thickness. Cut out 3″ inch circles out of the dough (I used a drinking glass). Place two halved cherries on one side of the dough and seal the dough at the edge by pinching the two sides together. You can leave it at that or go back and create a scalloped edge as shown in the picture.
  1. Continue rolling, filling and sealing until all dough is gone. I re-rolled the leftover dough from cut out circles by rolling it back and cutting out more circles. Makes about 45 vareniki.
  1. To cook vareniki: bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt and add vareniki. Don’t overcrowd. Cook no more than 5 minutes. You will be able to tell when vareniki are done as they will float to the top. Drain and serve right away with cherry compote or sour cream. I also added little
    bit of butter to the drained vareniki to prevent them from sticking.
  1. To freeze vareniki: place the vareniki on a
    parchment line
    d baking sheet in a single layer, freeze Resultado de imagen de VARENIKI WITH CHERRIESovernight; transfer
    the frozen vareniki into a large ziploc bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, just follow the above cooking instructions. There is no need to thaw out the vareniki before cooking.

Cherry Compote

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 12 oz. cherries with ½ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to a boil; lower the heat to medium/low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the cherries cook down and mixture is thick.

 

BLINI WITH IKRA

 

The blini is probably one of the most common foods you will find in Russian restaurants and cafes. Cheap, affordable and relatively simple to make, it is no surprise that this has become a dietary staple.

 

Similar to crepes, but slightly thicker and prepared with a leavening agent (like yeast), blini is more filling and versatile than their thinner counterpart. They can be eaten for dinner when filled with mushrooms, cabbage, ground meat, chicken or onions, or as a dessert or snack with sour cream, honey or caviar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 3 1/4 cup milk
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 or 2.5 tsp dry yeast
  • Oil (vegetable) for greasing the pan
  • 1 stick of butter
  • Filling of your choice

 

Tools

 

  • Greasing tool (like a paintbrush)
  • 3 quart pot with cover
  • Non-stick pan (8-9’’ diameter)
  • Ladle
  • Spatula
  • Heat-proof or microwavable dish to put blini on

 

Instructions

 

  1. Heat 1.25 cup of milk in pot until it boils. Take out 1/4 cup of hot milk and mix with the yeast until it dissolves. Beat the eggs separately, then mix them in with the milk (the larger portion) then pour in the milk/yeast mixture, the salt and the sugar. Maintain low heat while mixing and stir constantly.

 

  1. Add flour until the batter is very thick. Once batter is thick, cover the pot and let the dough rise somewhere warm. This process can take between 2-5 hours if the yeast is poor-if the yeast is good; it will only take about an hour.

 

  1. Prepare your blini filling while the dough is rising. They taste best if you serve them hot, so it would be a mad rush to prepare them once the blinis are finished.

 

  1. Once the dough has risen (it will be 3x bigger), boil the rest of the milk. Mix it into the dough slowly, stirring very well. Make sure no more than 1/2 cup of unmixed milk is being poured into the dough at a time. When the milk has been mixed, let the dough sit for 30 minutes, covered. Do not stir.
  2. When your batter is ready to cook, it will look thick and foamy. Prepare the pan on high heat and coat it with oil. Pour in a ladle of batter and spread it to fill the pan (this will need to be done manually, it will not slide around by tilting the pan).

 

  1. Cooking blinis is very similar to cooking pancakes. Cook until the top bubbles and then flip. Cook until lightly browned, and then place on the dish. Gently butter the top-facing side of the blini (a light coating is perfect).

 

  1. Place filling in the center, fold like a burrito or a wrap and serve!

 

To preserve leftover blinis, cover them with foil and refrigerate. When trying to eat leftover blinis, they will stick together so it is best to heat them up in the oven or microwave before attempting to separate them to prevent tearing.

 

 

 

COOKING WITH SAINT GEORGE IS COOL

In this part of our superduper blog, we will try our best to teach you how to cook some of the easiest, yet most delicious recipes. Please enjoy and try them out, once you do, don’t forget to comment on how well you did 🙂

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1.TIRAMISU

  • Recipe:
    • 2 eggs (separate the yolk and the white part)
    • 500g of mascarpone cheese
    • 3 cake bases
    • 2 big spoons of sugar (mix one with the yolk and the other one with the cocoa)
    • 2-3 tea spoons of cocoa

Watch the video below and see what the are steps to this LOVELY cake.

-Júlia Cano and Veronika Ranneva.