Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
served in the form of compote. According to an old Russian proverb, '
shchi
(cabbage soup)
and
kasha
(porridge) is our nourishment'. This saying emphasises the important role played
by soups and grains in sustaining generations of peasants through cold, dark winters.
BREAKFAST
Russians rarely skip breakfast
(zavtrak)
. Russian cuisine includes half-a-dozen kinds of
kasha,
including buckwheat, millet, oat and semolina.
Bliny
are thin, crêpe-like pancakes
with sweet or savoury fillings. At the very least, you'll get bread
(khleb)
with butter and jam,
alongside your tea.
APPETISERS & SALADS
Whether as the preamble to a meal, or something to snack on between vodka shots,
zakuski
(appetisers) are an important part of Russian cuisine. Back in the day, a good host always
had a spread of
zakuski
on the table to welcome unexpected guests.
Most famously,
ikra
(caviar) is the snack of tsars and New Russians. The best caviar is
black caviar, from
osetra
(beluga sturgeon). However, due to overfishing, sturgeon popula-
tions have declined drastically in recent years, driving up prices and threatening the fish
with extinction. The much cheaper and saltier option is red salmon caviar. Russians spread it
on buttered bread and wash it down with a slug of vodka or a toast of champagne.
Most traditional menus offer a multitude of salads, many with names that will leave you
scratching your head. The universal favourite is
salat olivye
(Olivier salad), which is
chopped chicken or ham, mixed with potatoes, eggs, peas and mayonnaise. Another classic
is
seld pod shuby
('herring in a fur coat'), a colourful conglomeration of herring, beets and
potatoes.
SOUPS
Soups are perhaps the pinnacle of Russian cooking, with both hot and cold varieties turning
up on menus and in local kitchens. The most famous is borsch (beetroot soup), but other fa-
vourites include
solyanka,
a meat broth with salty vegetables and a hint of lemon, and
ok-
roshka,
a cold soup made from
kvas
(fermented rye-bread water).
Soups are served as the first course of a Russian meal. As such, they often appear on the
menu under the heading
Pervaya,
which means 'first'.
MAIN COURSES
Traditional Russian main courses are usually heavy, meat-based dishes. Fried cutlets
(kotlet)
and grilled kebabs
(shashlyk)
are popular preparations that often show up on the menu, lis-
ted under
Glavnaya
(main) or
Vtoraya
(second). Especially satisfying in winter,
zharkoye
