So last night I made chili, as it was horrible Romance movie night with a friend who can't have cow milk products or wheat. The chili turned out fabulous (of course, pshaw) and was super basic.
(I would love to have remembered to take a picture, but I didn't.)
I soaked Cannelloni beans until they were nice and plump. If I was smart, I would have cooked them now, but I forgot and I had to let the chili cook them as best as it could. I grated a HUGE zucchini that was hiding in my fridge, and used about 2 c. worth in the chili (I froze the rest). After grating the zucchini, I sprinkle salt on it to draw the water out, and then squeeze the excess liquid out of my zucchini. I tossed that straight into the crock pot. Also add in your beans, preferably cooked.
At this point I also boiled some more water and reconstituted three little chili peppers that I had. Once plump, I scraped out the seeds, chopped finely, and tossed in the crock pot.
I also tossed straight in a can of crushed tomatoes. I used about a cup or two of vegetable broth to rinse out the can and get the last little bits of tomato.
While I was getting all that set up, I chopped and fried two little peppers from my garden (yay!) and half of an onion. Once the onions were mostly translucent, I removed most of them from the pan and put them into the crock pot, and kept the rest in there to flavor the ground beef that I fried next. I had enough ground beef that it almost filled my pan, so it took a while for that to brown fully. Once it was done, I threw it in the crock and mixed it all up, trying to gauge how "chili-like" it was. It needed more liquid, so I added more vegetable broth. I also added tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
I let it cook for several hours (read: 5) and Mister bought a sheep's milk cheese that was to replace the cheddar I would have normally put on top. All in all, highly successful!
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Mexican Night
About a year ago, I had a Mexican roommate. As she turned out to be crazy (not due to her being Mexican) I don't usually talk about how I've learned anything from her. But I learned a few things:
1 -- I hate passive aggressive behavior. Just be aggressive!
2 -- Packrat-ism can reach scary levels.
3 -- How to cook Mexican rice and beans.
How to cook beans is pretty easy: soak dried beans until soft. Either overnight with cold water, or about an hour with hot water (or you can let it sit a bit longer if you're me). Drain the beans. Then boil the beans with a lot of water, and half of an onion. When the onion falls apart and is a funky color due to the beans, you can feel free to remove it. This helps to limit the amount of gassiness that the musical fruit can impart. The beans can take about an hour, depending upon the type of bean.
How to cook Mexican rice: Heat a frying pan (with a decent lip) and a bit of oil. Add uncooked rice, and toast, stirring occasionally until lightly golden and having fully absorbed the oil. They'll be shiny. You'll then want to add stock. It'll hiss and steam quite a bit, but add enough to cover and then some, then put a cover upon the pan. Check this occasionally, and add stock as needed until the rice is cooked. This should take about 10 mins or so.
We served this with corn tortillas that were toasted on both sides, and Monterey Jack cheese sprinkled upon it and melted. Also a jar of Green Mountain Gringo's Salsa was had.
You can either eat this all separately, or make little tacos.
Note: the picture above is the set up of tea kettle, beans, rice and tortilla pans.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tasty Bean Dip
All that remains after yesterday
So I had wanted to make this bean dip for the house warming party on Saturday. Alas, I was a lazy bum, and did not.
But my beans were soaked and waiting for me. So on Sunday, I made it for myself and Mister (who had an upset tummy after overdoing it Saturday).
Some changes I made:
I used dried beans, soaked and cooked what I thought was approximately 15 oz of beans. I wound up weighing it out, and had a scant cup extra!
I used a potato masher, and finely diced the garlic, onion and snipped the rosemary with a pair of scissors. It sets my teeth on edge to see recipes that state "and then pull out your imaginary food processor OR the blender!" instead of something a little more neutral. E.g., baked goods should always just say "cream butter and sugar" instead of "at a medium setting on your mixer..." Rawr is all I say to that b.s.
I didn't have bread crumbs, so I used corn flakes. Also, I just mixed the cornflakes and cheese together, crumbled that on top, and then drizzled the olive oil.
When devouring it the first time, I felt it lacked a little oomph. Mister claimed he loved it wholeheartedly. So when I reheated it, I grated a little bit of cheddar on top, and I felt it pulled it together much better.
All in all, not bad, but I have to play with it more.
Friday, March 11, 2011
A Couple More Recipes
Baked White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Parmesan -- I'd like to make this for the housewarming party tomorrow
Schnitz un Knepp -- Ham, Apples and Dumplings, this looks tasty!
Schnitz un Knepp -- Ham, Apples and Dumplings, this looks tasty!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Soup
'Tis a happy soup season. I love soup, and I love making soup. The funny thing is, that even though I tried to make a light, thin soup, it still came out thick on me!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cups stock
1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons
more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Soak beans overnight. Drain, and cook at a simmer for 1.5 hours.
Actually start by weighing potatoes. Realize that 1/2# potatoes is ONE potato, grab another, and a little shrivled redskin potato as well. Chop. Dice onion, and 4.5 cloves of garlic (one little one had so many bad spots...).
Heat olive oil in a frying pan, and start frying potatoes. When they start to get a little color, throw in the onions and garlic and cook until they become aromatic and NOT burned. If you have too many potatoes for your pan (*cough), please do it in batches, and do 1/2 of the onions/garlic in each batch. When potatoes/onion/garlic is cooked, toss it in a pot.
Add the beans that you had been previously soaking (after draining them), without bothering to measure.
Add the carton of stock (~4 cups of chicken stock) and 2 cups of water. Yes, I added more liquid. Also throw in salt, pepper, bay leaf, cumin and paprika. Cook until the stock is fully heated.
Add the sliced cabbage to the soup and despair that your pot is rather small. Cook the cabbage until soft.
Serve with bread, and topped with grated romano and fried onions.
Is that not the most beautiful food picture I've ever taken?
Verdict? Absolutely delicious. And we have yet to have the anticipated problems arising from beans + cabbage... :-P Also, would probably taste delicious with the potatoes fried in bacon fat. But then again, most things taste better with bacon.
N.B. -- after looking at the original recipe again, I realized that she DICED her potato, not sliced into 1/4" pieces... that's how she can get away with only one potato.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cups stock
1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons
more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Soak beans overnight. Drain, and cook at a simmer for 1.5 hours.
Actually start by weighing potatoes. Realize that 1/2# potatoes is ONE potato, grab another, and a little shrivled redskin potato as well. Chop. Dice onion, and 4.5 cloves of garlic (one little one had so many bad spots...).
Heat olive oil in a frying pan, and start frying potatoes. When they start to get a little color, throw in the onions and garlic and cook until they become aromatic and NOT burned. If you have too many potatoes for your pan (*cough), please do it in batches, and do 1/2 of the onions/garlic in each batch. When potatoes/onion/garlic is cooked, toss it in a pot.
Add the beans that you had been previously soaking (after draining them), without bothering to measure.
Add the carton of stock (~4 cups of chicken stock) and 2 cups of water. Yes, I added more liquid. Also throw in salt, pepper, bay leaf, cumin and paprika. Cook until the stock is fully heated.
Add the sliced cabbage to the soup and despair that your pot is rather small. Cook the cabbage until soft.
Serve with bread, and topped with grated romano and fried onions.
Is that not the most beautiful food picture I've ever taken?
Verdict? Absolutely delicious. And we have yet to have the anticipated problems arising from beans + cabbage... :-P Also, would probably taste delicious with the potatoes fried in bacon fat. But then again, most things taste better with bacon.
N.B. -- after looking at the original recipe again, I realized that she DICED her potato, not sliced into 1/4" pieces... that's how she can get away with only one potato.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Making Soup
Finally, it is soup weather yet again! The fact that it is raining only makes it more so, in my book. This'll be an odd soup -- with bits of odds 'n' ends as well as parts of recipes. N.B. the camera was out of batteries, so there are no pics. :-(
Two of the basic soup recipes that I based this upon are Five Bean Soup from Tasty Kitchen and Ree Drummond's (a.k.a. Pioneer Woman) Roasted Vegetable Minestrone.
To begin with, I soaked equal amounts of Great Northern, Black, Red, and Roman beans in water for about 7 hours. I then drained the beans, and put them back in the pot with 5 c. of beef broth and 1 c. water. Brought the whole thing to a boil, then lowered to a simmer for 2 hours.
While the beans are heating up, I chopped off an inch on a package of bacon (so perhaps 2 slices total?), set that to frying, and chopped a small red onion, approximately 2 cloves of garlic, and small shallot. The shallot I threw directly into the soup, but the onion and garlic I fried in bacon fat before adding to the soup. I also added the following spices to the soup: 2 bay leaves, ground cumin, and paprika.
After adding all of the fried things to the soup, I chopped up four Andouille sausage, and fried them in the bacon fat as well (adding a little olive oil if it needed it). As my frying pan is on the small side, I fried them two at a time.
While the sausage was frying, preheating the oven to 500F, I chopped up the lone remaining Zucchini from weeks ago (into long quarters, and then into chunks), threw it in a baking pan, covered it with olive oil and salt, and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes, until it was all pretty and browned. Optional: when taking the zucchini out of the oven, have the fire alarm go off, and hold the pan outside the back door in the rain until the alarm turns off.
After the sausage has finished frying and is beautifully browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside (I put it in with the zucchini). Also, chop a handful of green beans, and set aside. All that is left is waiting on the beans.
After about an hour and a half, start checking the beans for done-ness. When they are soft, they are done. If they still crunch a little, leave them be.
When the beans are fully cooked, add the sausage, zucchini, green beans, ~8 oz. of tomato sauce (leftover from the Lasagne Tart), and ~6 oz. mild salsa. After mixing this all in, check for flavor levels. I wound up adding more ground cumin, pepper, and smoked paprika.
This was served with cheddar cheese, and corn bread.
Two of the basic soup recipes that I based this upon are Five Bean Soup from Tasty Kitchen and Ree Drummond's (a.k.a. Pioneer Woman) Roasted Vegetable Minestrone.
To begin with, I soaked equal amounts of Great Northern, Black, Red, and Roman beans in water for about 7 hours. I then drained the beans, and put them back in the pot with 5 c. of beef broth and 1 c. water. Brought the whole thing to a boil, then lowered to a simmer for 2 hours.
While the beans are heating up, I chopped off an inch on a package of bacon (so perhaps 2 slices total?), set that to frying, and chopped a small red onion, approximately 2 cloves of garlic, and small shallot. The shallot I threw directly into the soup, but the onion and garlic I fried in bacon fat before adding to the soup. I also added the following spices to the soup: 2 bay leaves, ground cumin, and paprika.
After adding all of the fried things to the soup, I chopped up four Andouille sausage, and fried them in the bacon fat as well (adding a little olive oil if it needed it). As my frying pan is on the small side, I fried them two at a time.
While the sausage was frying, preheating the oven to 500F, I chopped up the lone remaining Zucchini from weeks ago (into long quarters, and then into chunks), threw it in a baking pan, covered it with olive oil and salt, and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes, until it was all pretty and browned. Optional: when taking the zucchini out of the oven, have the fire alarm go off, and hold the pan outside the back door in the rain until the alarm turns off.
After the sausage has finished frying and is beautifully browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside (I put it in with the zucchini). Also, chop a handful of green beans, and set aside. All that is left is waiting on the beans.
After about an hour and a half, start checking the beans for done-ness. When they are soft, they are done. If they still crunch a little, leave them be.
When the beans are fully cooked, add the sausage, zucchini, green beans, ~8 oz. of tomato sauce (leftover from the Lasagne Tart), and ~6 oz. mild salsa. After mixing this all in, check for flavor levels. I wound up adding more ground cumin, pepper, and smoked paprika.
This was served with cheddar cheese, and corn bread.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Food!
As it is trash day tomorrow morning, I cleaned out the fridge, and took stock of what's in there. (I also discovered that Mister DOES have ketchup and mustard -- which I was lamenting all summer that he didn't...) To keep track of my plans involving food, I'm just gonna throw stuff at this post.
Monday: leftover chicken stew
Tuesday: leftover pancake for breakfast, fried sausage for dinner (perhaps a starch of some sort as well?)
Wednesday: Eggs/bacon for breakfast, fried pickles for lunch, Zucchini/Ricotta cheesecake for dinner
Thursday: bacon/cheese scones for breakfast, hummus/chips for lunch, pizza for dinner
Friday: brekkie? Lasagne Pie for dinner (but with the top coat of mozz.)
Saturday: brekkie? blackbean/andouille sausage soup w/ corn bread for dinner
Sunday: brekkie? Sausage Kebabs for dinner
Shopping List: more ricotta, dill?, lemon, eggs, goat cheese?, tomato sauce, dried beans, fig preserves, cherry tomatoes, pita chips
Also, here are some interesting recipes:
ANDUOILLE, KALE, WHITE BEAN, & POTATO SOUP......MMMMM EXCELLENT!
Ingredients; I use mostly organic prepared ingredients because they contain far fewer ingredients/additives and generally no wheat or other gluten laced additives.
1 lb of 1/4" sliced organic Andouille Sausage. I used the Uncle something or another brand that's readily available.
8 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth
1 head Kale washed, chopped in strips and remove tough stems
4 roma tomato's, drained, seeded, and diced
2 cans of white beans washed and drained
1 large white onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
Kosher salt at the end so not to over salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 cap fulls of balsamic or red wine vinager
2 thick cut Russett Potato's or Yukon Gold (Wait a little longer to add the Yukon as they are much softer...much tastier as well)
Directions:
Brown sausage in large soup pot
Add chopped onion to pot and cook for 2 minutes
Add garlic and potato chunks and sautee for 2 minutes
Add Kale and sautee for 2-3 minutes stirring until wilted evenly coated
Add chicken broth and vinegar and bring to a boil and then simmer with cover for 40 min.
Add chopped tomato, white beans, and kosher salt and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes or until desired doneness.
Serve with warm crusty bread or corn bread. Enjoy!
Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)
And some lovely Wiki info:
Hot soups
Shchi
Shchi (cabbage soup) had been the predominant first course in Russian cuisine for over a thousand years. Although tastes have changed, it steadily made its way through several epochs. Shchi knew no social class boundaries, and even if the rich had richer ingredients and the poor made it solely of cabbage and onions, all these "poor" and "rich" variations were cooked in the same tradition. The unique taste of this cabbage soup was from the fact that after cooking it was left to draw (stew) in a Russian stove. The "Spirit of shchi" was inseparable from a Russian izba (log hut). Many Russian proverbs are connected to this soup, such as Shchi da kasha pishcha nasha ("Shchi and porridge are our food"). It can be eaten regularly, and at any time of the year.
The richer variant of shchi includes several ingredients, but the first and last components are a must:
Cabbage.
Meat (very rarely fish or mushrooms).
Carrots or parsley roots.
Spicy herbs (onions, celery, dill, garlic, pepper, bay leaf).
Sour components (smetana, apples, sauerkraut, pickle water).
When this soup is served, smetana is added. It is eaten with rye bread. During much of the year when the Orthodox Christian Church prescribes abstinence from meat and dairy, a vegan version of shchi is made. "Kislye" (sour) schi are made from pickled cabbage (sauerkraut), "serye" (grey) schi from the green outer leaves of the cabbage head. "Zelyonye" (green) schi are made from sorrel leaves, not cabbage, and used to be a popular summer soup.
Ukha is a warm watery fish dish, however calling it a fish soup would not be absolutely correct. "Ukha" as a name for fish broth was established only in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times this name was first given to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning from the 15th century, fish was more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups.
A minimum of vegetables is added in preparation, and in classical cooking ukha was simply a rich fish broth served to accompany fish pies (rasstegai, kuliebiaka, etc.). These days it is more often a fish soup, cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. A wide variety of freshwater fish is traditionally used.
Rassolnik is a hot soup in a salty-sour cucumber base. This dish formed in Russian cuisine quite late—only in the 19th century. About this time the name rassolnik was attached to it, originating from the Russian word "rassol" which means brine (pickle water). Pickle water was known to be used as base for soups from the 15th century at the latest. Its concentration and ratio with other liquids and soup components gave birth to different soups: solyanka, pohmelka, and of course rassolnik. The latest are moderately sour-salty soups on pickled cucumber base. Some are vegetarian, but more often with products like veal or beef kidneys or all poultry giblets (stomach, liver, heart, neck, feet). For best taste there has to be a balance between the sour part and neutral absorbers (cereals, potatoes, root vegetables). Typical rassolnik is based on kidneys, brine (and pickles), vegetables and barley.
Kal'ya was a very common dish first served in the 16th–17th centuries. Subsequently it almost completely disappeared from Russian cuisine. Often it was incorrectly called "fish rassolnik." The cooking technique is mostly the same as of ukha, but to the broth were added pickled cucumbers, pickle water, lemons and lemon juice, either separately or all together. The main characteristic of kal'ya is that only fat, rich fish was used; sometimes caviar was added along with the fish. More spices are added, and the soup turns out more piquant and thicker than ukha. Formerly kal'ya was considered a festivity dish.
Solyanka is a thick, piquant soup that combines components from schi (cabbage, smetana) and rassolnik (pickle water and cucumbers), spices such as olives, capers, tomatoes, lemons, lemon juice, kvass, salted and pickled mushrooms are make up a considerably strong sour-salty base of the soup. Solyanka is much thicker than other soups, about 1/3 less liquid ratio. Three types are distinguished: meat, fish, and simple solyanka. The first two are cooked on strong meat or fish broths, and the last on mushroom or vegetable broth. All the broths are mixed with cucumber pickle water.
Lapsha (noodle soup) was adopted by Russians from Tatars, and after some transformation became widespread in Russia. It comes in three variations: chicken, mushroom, and milk. Cooking all three is simple, including preparation of noodles, cooking of corresponding broth, and boiling of noodles in broth. Noodles are based on the same wheat flour or buckwheat/wheat flour mix. Mixed flour noodles go better with mushroom or milk broth.
Borsch is made of broth, beets, and tomato juice with various vegetables. Vegetables include onions, cabbage, tomato, carrots, and celery. Broth is usually made from beef and is heated while ingredients are added. Borsch can be made vegan, served hot or cold. Typically, it is served with white bread and Smetana.
Monday: leftover chicken stew
Tuesday: leftover pancake for breakfast, fried sausage for dinner (perhaps a starch of some sort as well?)
Wednesday: Eggs/bacon for breakfast, fried pickles for lunch, Zucchini/Ricotta cheesecake for dinner
Thursday: bacon/cheese scones for breakfast, hummus/chips for lunch, pizza for dinner
Friday: brekkie? Lasagne Pie for dinner (but with the top coat of mozz.)
Saturday: brekkie? blackbean/andouille sausage soup w/ corn bread for dinner
Sunday: brekkie? Sausage Kebabs for dinner
Shopping List: more ricotta, dill?, lemon, eggs, goat cheese?, tomato sauce, dried beans, fig preserves, cherry tomatoes, pita chips
Also, here are some interesting recipes:
ANDUOILLE, KALE, WHITE BEAN, & POTATO SOUP......MMMMM EXCELLENT!
Ingredients; I use mostly organic prepared ingredients because they contain far fewer ingredients/additives and generally no wheat or other gluten laced additives.
1 lb of 1/4" sliced organic Andouille Sausage. I used the Uncle something or another brand that's readily available.
8 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth
1 head Kale washed, chopped in strips and remove tough stems
4 roma tomato's, drained, seeded, and diced
2 cans of white beans washed and drained
1 large white onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
Kosher salt at the end so not to over salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 cap fulls of balsamic or red wine vinager
2 thick cut Russett Potato's or Yukon Gold (Wait a little longer to add the Yukon as they are much softer...much tastier as well)
Directions:
Brown sausage in large soup pot
Add chopped onion to pot and cook for 2 minutes
Add garlic and potato chunks and sautee for 2 minutes
Add Kale and sautee for 2-3 minutes stirring until wilted evenly coated
Add chicken broth and vinegar and bring to a boil and then simmer with cover for 40 min.
Add chopped tomato, white beans, and kosher salt and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes or until desired doneness.
Serve with warm crusty bread or corn bread. Enjoy!
Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)
And some lovely Wiki info:
Hot soups
Shchi
Shchi (cabbage soup) had been the predominant first course in Russian cuisine for over a thousand years. Although tastes have changed, it steadily made its way through several epochs. Shchi knew no social class boundaries, and even if the rich had richer ingredients and the poor made it solely of cabbage and onions, all these "poor" and "rich" variations were cooked in the same tradition. The unique taste of this cabbage soup was from the fact that after cooking it was left to draw (stew) in a Russian stove. The "Spirit of shchi" was inseparable from a Russian izba (log hut). Many Russian proverbs are connected to this soup, such as Shchi da kasha pishcha nasha ("Shchi and porridge are our food"). It can be eaten regularly, and at any time of the year.
The richer variant of shchi includes several ingredients, but the first and last components are a must:
Cabbage.
Meat (very rarely fish or mushrooms).
Carrots or parsley roots.
Spicy herbs (onions, celery, dill, garlic, pepper, bay leaf).
Sour components (smetana, apples, sauerkraut, pickle water).
When this soup is served, smetana is added. It is eaten with rye bread. During much of the year when the Orthodox Christian Church prescribes abstinence from meat and dairy, a vegan version of shchi is made. "Kislye" (sour) schi are made from pickled cabbage (sauerkraut), "serye" (grey) schi from the green outer leaves of the cabbage head. "Zelyonye" (green) schi are made from sorrel leaves, not cabbage, and used to be a popular summer soup.
Ukha is a warm watery fish dish, however calling it a fish soup would not be absolutely correct. "Ukha" as a name for fish broth was established only in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times this name was first given to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning from the 15th century, fish was more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups.
A minimum of vegetables is added in preparation, and in classical cooking ukha was simply a rich fish broth served to accompany fish pies (rasstegai, kuliebiaka, etc.). These days it is more often a fish soup, cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. A wide variety of freshwater fish is traditionally used.
Rassolnik is a hot soup in a salty-sour cucumber base. This dish formed in Russian cuisine quite late—only in the 19th century. About this time the name rassolnik was attached to it, originating from the Russian word "rassol" which means brine (pickle water). Pickle water was known to be used as base for soups from the 15th century at the latest. Its concentration and ratio with other liquids and soup components gave birth to different soups: solyanka, pohmelka, and of course rassolnik. The latest are moderately sour-salty soups on pickled cucumber base. Some are vegetarian, but more often with products like veal or beef kidneys or all poultry giblets (stomach, liver, heart, neck, feet). For best taste there has to be a balance between the sour part and neutral absorbers (cereals, potatoes, root vegetables). Typical rassolnik is based on kidneys, brine (and pickles), vegetables and barley.
Kal'ya was a very common dish first served in the 16th–17th centuries. Subsequently it almost completely disappeared from Russian cuisine. Often it was incorrectly called "fish rassolnik." The cooking technique is mostly the same as of ukha, but to the broth were added pickled cucumbers, pickle water, lemons and lemon juice, either separately or all together. The main characteristic of kal'ya is that only fat, rich fish was used; sometimes caviar was added along with the fish. More spices are added, and the soup turns out more piquant and thicker than ukha. Formerly kal'ya was considered a festivity dish.
Solyanka is a thick, piquant soup that combines components from schi (cabbage, smetana) and rassolnik (pickle water and cucumbers), spices such as olives, capers, tomatoes, lemons, lemon juice, kvass, salted and pickled mushrooms are make up a considerably strong sour-salty base of the soup. Solyanka is much thicker than other soups, about 1/3 less liquid ratio. Three types are distinguished: meat, fish, and simple solyanka. The first two are cooked on strong meat or fish broths, and the last on mushroom or vegetable broth. All the broths are mixed with cucumber pickle water.
Lapsha (noodle soup) was adopted by Russians from Tatars, and after some transformation became widespread in Russia. It comes in three variations: chicken, mushroom, and milk. Cooking all three is simple, including preparation of noodles, cooking of corresponding broth, and boiling of noodles in broth. Noodles are based on the same wheat flour or buckwheat/wheat flour mix. Mixed flour noodles go better with mushroom or milk broth.
Borsch is made of broth, beets, and tomato juice with various vegetables. Vegetables include onions, cabbage, tomato, carrots, and celery. Broth is usually made from beef and is heated while ingredients are added. Borsch can be made vegan, served hot or cold. Typically, it is served with white bread and Smetana.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)