Blinis Demidoff

We have an example,  though incomplete, of this excellent dish in the film Babette's feast

from "Babette's feast"

For 10 persons: 20 blinis, caviar, smoked sturgeon or salmon thinly sliced, Salsa Smetana.

On a service dish, arrange the blinis (1 or 2 for each person), very hot, and put on each a tsp of caviar, a slice of smoked fish and 1 Tsp of Smetana Sauce.

Serve immediately.

This recipes requires several ingredients and the preparation of both, Blinis and Smetana Sauce.

I like very much salmon caviar, which is less expensive than dark sturgeon caviar, so I use indistinctly both types. I also like the delicious smoked sturgeon and, if I can find it at a convenient price, I buy it.

If you use these blinis as entrée you would not need a large quantity of each ingredient.

It will be different, instead, if you will make them the main course of the dinner. In this case, blinis as well as salmon and caviar will be abundant.

Leavened Blinì

Blinis are small pancakes, typical of Russian and Ukraine cookery.

They are similar to crêpes but smaller, more similar usual pancakes.

I tasted them for the first time in Paris was in the russian restaurant , "À la Ville de Petrograd" in Daru street. This restaurant recently have changed management.

From that time I have tried to reproduce them and at last I had success.

Ingredients: 500g plain flour, 30gr baking yeast, 1 Tsp sugar, 1 egg, 50g butter, 250g yoghurt.

Dissolve the yeast in a glass of lukewarm water and add it to the flour, mixing in a bowl. Combine with it yogurt and sugar, melted butter and finally the egg .

Smetana

Smetana is a sour cream sauce (in Italy is simply call it sour cream).

It is a sauce that in Russia is sold ready-made. In Italy sometimes we replace it by a good greek yogurt. 

Its preparation is complex, but we can make an excellent imitation of it with some products that are on the market.

Ingredients: 100g mascarpone 200g whipping cream, the filtered juice of 2 lemons

Pour the mascarpone in a large bowl, add cream and stir vigorously with a whisk.

Then add the filtered juice of lemons and mix again very well all ingredients.

Let stand.

In my experience, it is better to prepare Smetana the day before eating, so the sour of lemon juice will integrate with the other ingredients, creating the special taste of this sauce.

It is possible to keep Smetana in the refrigerator for a few days in a glass container, tightly closed.

It is a very versatile sauce that can be combined in many dishes, both sweet and savory.

Borsch with Smetana and Pirozhki

Of Ukrainian origin , this is the most popular and widespread soup in Eastern Europe but also in North America where it was introduced by the Jews Azkenaziti .The name means " red soup " or maybe just " soup " given that there is also a green Borsh. Not knowing Russian, however , I can not be sure.The traditional recipe includes as ingredient even meat, not only in the preparation of the broth but also in the soup itself, along with chopped vegetables but, however, a popular Polish version traditionally served on the Christmas Eve diner  is made only by vegetables as taught me a Polish friend.The essential ingredients are beetroot and cabbage (any kinds of cabbage except the red one) but the key feature of his taste is a mild acidity that you get especially with vinegar or lemon juice and that was formerly obtained by a process of fermentation .Like all these complex soups, it is better eaten the next day after resting a night.Ingredients for Borsch: Meat broth q.b. , 700g  of meat (beef, pork or chicken as you prefer or available) , 300g raw beetroot (now it is easy to find, often also organic), 400g of green cabbage , 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 potatoes , parsley , some tomato ( if you have , a clove of garlic (if you like ) , butter or oil, vinegar or lemon. Sour cream or greek yogurt for garnish.

Leave aside the cabbage and tomatoes and wash the other vegetables including beets. Peel and cut them into small slices. Fry them in a pan over medium heat with a little butter or oil. Add meat cut into chunks, season, add the tomatoes cut into small pieces too and then the cabbage coarsely chopped into strips. At this point, stir occasionally to prevent ingredients from sticking wasting the soup . Add broth and simmer gently at least 2 hours and even more, refilling evaporated liquid.
At the beginning, Borsch has a dark red color tending to orange but as the soup cooks his color becomes more similar to the color of wine or of a dark plum juice and even the parfume will become more harmonious, well structured, moving away from beetroot original smell, which at first seemed to be quite strong, integrates very nicely with the scent of other ingredients: the beet's sugar caramelizes, due to the heat.
Halfway through cooking, add vinegar or lemon juice, tasting in order to decide the amount. Salt at the end.
Serve piping hot with, apart, a bowl of  Smetana sauce or sour cream (which can be replaced by good greek yoghurt) to garnish and  with Pirozhkis, the traditional rolls stuffed with meat or vegetables.

I  don't use almost never vinegar but lemon as a learned from one of my Polish friend and, to tell the truth, I  like my vegetarian Borsch most than others. 
This is not only is a very nutritious soup and a confort food, but it's really healthy.

In winter it warms like nothing else. But in some Eastern European countries, it ts also consumed cold in the middle of summer, well mixed with sour cream. 

Borsch activates metabolism, improves blood circulation and balance fluids that affect blood pressure.

Traditionally it is eaten with Smetana and also Pirozhki and sometimes it is accompanied even from toasted strips of bacon or lard that Ukrainians  like so much.

Francobolli Ucraini dedicati al Borsch

Images of this post present Ukrainian tamps dedicated to Borsch and some Pirozhki ( image taken from Google images)

 

Pirozhki with 2 filling (meat and cabbage)

Traditionally Borsch is eaten with Smetana and Pirozhki (пирожок , пирожки ) or Pampushki as they call these stuffed rolls in Ukraine. In the most usual forms, these are small dough cakes stuffed of meat or whatever else. Different places and families have different recipes. It is said that in Ukraine, Russia and Poland, Borsch is the same on all tables, those of the rich and the poor, and what makes the difference are pirozhki, Cakes with savory filling on the rich tables, a bread crust for the poor . Pirozhki can be whatever you want, stuffed with cheese or just herbs, game or a mix of everything else
In Armenia, where Borsch becomes popular during the Russian domination, piroshki are usually stuffed with meat and potatoes and are similar to Turkey boreke and Greek pitas.
They depends on the cook and are ideal turnovers in a fusion cuisine. You can substitute them also with focaccette from Puglia.

Here is a possible recipe for these special Russians and Ukrainians turnovers

L'immagine dei Pirozhki è presa da Google images

Ingredients: 500g of flour , 2-3 eggs ( depending on size ), 65g butter, melted 100ml of warm water, 75ml milk , 25g of fresh yeast (or 1 sachet 7g ), ½ tsp salt, 2 +1 Tsp sugar Ingredients for a cabbage filling: 500g cabbage or sauerkraut, 2 boiled eggs, 2 Tsp butte, salt. Ingredients for meat filling: 400g of ground (pork, beef), 1 onion, 1 egg, 2 Tsp milk, salt and pepper.
Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water and 1 tsp sugar, let it sit for about 10 minutes until it foams. Put the flour in a bowl, add milk, lightly beaten eggs, butter, salt, sugar and baking powder dissolved.

Knead dough for a long time because it is very similar to a brioche dough and must be well-crafted to rise well. Put it in a bowl, cover with a cloth or with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it doubles. Knead again the dough at least once more letting it to rise again before preparing pirozhki .

Prepare fillings.
For the cabbage filling: thinly sliced ​​cabbage and simmer it in a pan for 10 minutes with butter, stirring often. Salt. Boile Hard-boile eggs, let them cool, peel and chop them before mixing with cabbage.

For the meat filling: finely chop onion and mix with the ground beef, salt and pepper and if you want brown it in apan. Then add the eggs and milk and stir for few minutes.

Prepare now Pirozhki: With the dough make a sheet, 4-5 mm thick and cut portions not too large, more or less like those for a small panzerotto, any shape you want, round or rectangular. Put on it the filling and roll them up or close them very well by sealing edges.
Arrange Pirozhki on a baking dish covered with parchment paper or well greased, brush them with egg

Pirozhki can be large or small and are a perfect finger food.
They're always great, both hot and cold.

If you do not prepare Borsch, you can eat them with any soup and also with a cup of tea or a glass of wine. 
Fill them with anything you can imagine of even jams, fruit, mushrooms, fish, cottage cheese and so on.