Russian Cookbook

300 gr beef, minced
2 tablespoon butter
1 egg
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 large potato, mashed
1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs
1 lb. lean minced beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 oz. double cream
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a small frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and translucent but not brown.

In a large bowl, combine the onions, mashed potato, bread-crumbs, meat, cream, salt, egg and dill. Beat with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Shape into small balls about 2-4 cm in diameter.

Arrange the meat-balls in one layer on a baking sheet or a flat tray, cover them with plastic wrapping and chill for at least 1 hour before cooking.

Over a high heat, melt the 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Add meat¬balls, 5 to 8 at a time. Reduce the heat to moderate and fry the balls on all sides, shaking the pan almost constantly to roll the balls around in the hot fat to help keep their shape. In 8 to 10 minutes the meat-balls should be brown outside and show no trace of pink inside

Transfer each finished batch to a casserole or baking dish and keep warm in a 200°F (95°C) oven.

Souse:

Remove your pan juice from the heat, pour off all but a thin film of fat from the pan, and stir in 1 tablespoon of flour. Quickly stir in 1/2 cup of cream, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the pan. Boil the sauce over a moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is thick and smooth.

Pour over the meat-balls and serve.

2 kg shoulder of lamb, cut into 3-5 -cm cubes
2 – 4 cups water
Bouquet of 1 bay leaf, 5 sprigs dill and 5 sprigs parsley, 1 root of parsley tied together
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a heavy casserole that is equipped with a cover, cover the lamb with water and bring it to a boil, uncovered, over a high heat.

Lower heat to moderate and with a large spoon skim off and discard the scum as it rises to the surface.

Add the bouquet and, salt and peppercorns to the pot.

Partially cover the pot and simmer the lamb very slowly for about 1 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Remove the lamb to a deep heated dish or casserole, cover with foil and keep warm in a 200°F (90°C) oven.

Dill Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups lamb stock (from above)
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
5 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Dill sprigs
Lemon slice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Strain the lamb stock from the casserole through a fine sieve into a saucepan and boil it down rapidly over a high heat until it is reduced to 1 cup.

Meanwhile, saucepan, melt the 1 butter. Remove this pan from the heat, stir in the flour, then add all the reduced stock at once, stirring it rapidly with a wire whisk.

Return the pan to the heat and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, until it is smooth and thick. Simmer the sauce over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chopped dill, vinegar, pepper and salt.

Stir a couple of tablespoons of the hot sauce into the beaten egg yolk, then pour mixture slowly back into the sauce, beating constantly with a wire whisk.

Heat through again, but do not let the sauce boil.

Strain the sauce through a fine sieve over the lamb.

Suggestion:

Garnish the dish with additional sprigs of dill and lemon slices, and serve with boiled buttered new potatoes or rice.

3 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
500 gr. lean stewing steak, cut into 2-cm cubes
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef stock
2 bay leaf
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy skillet. When the foam subsides, add the meat and brown it well on all sides. Transfer the meat to a casserole equipped with a cover.

Add the sliced onion to the skillet (with more butter and oil if necessary) and cook over a moderate heat until soft and transparent. Scrape them into the casserole, add the flour and toss the ingredients lightly. Add salt, pepper and bay leaf.

Pour the stock into the skillet and boil it rapidly for 3 – 5 minutes, scraping into the liquid any browned bits of meat and onions clinging to the pan. Pour into the casserole.

Bring the casserole to a boil on top of the stove, cover it tightly and put in the lower third of the oven. Cook, lowering the oven heat if necessary, so that the sauce in the casserole barely simmers. In about 1 hours, the meat should be tender.

Remove the meat to a deep, heated dish and cover it lightly with foil.

With a large spoon, skim the fat from the liquid in the casserole and discard it. With a wire whisk, beat in the sour cream, a little at a time. Taste and season with salt and pepper, pour the finished sauce over the meat and reheat if necessary.

2 pound soup meat
1 pound lean fresh pork
1/2 pound smoked pork
10 cups cold water
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1 bunch soup greens
8 medium-sized beets
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 large onions
3 large potatoes
6 tomatoes or 1 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
1 clove garlic
5 frankfurters
1 tbsp butter
1tbsp flour
1/2 cup cooked navy beans

Any kind of smoked pork is good for this soup, but the best flavor is obtained from “smoked backs”. These are inexpensive and wonderfully flavorsome, but have almost no meat on them. They can be served in the soup. If you use smoked backs, you’ll need 1 pound instead of 1/2 pound.

Put your soup meat and your two kinds of pork in a large heavy pot with the water. Bring to a boil. Skim, then add the bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, and soup greens. The soup green should include parsley, Russian parsley, a carrot, celery, and a leek. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, cook 7 beets, unpealed, till tender. Grate 1 raw beet and mix 3 tablespoons of cold water. This is to use for coloring. When the seven beets are done, peel them and cut each beet in eight pieces.

Take the meat out of the soup pot. Discard the smoked backs, if this is what you have used. If you have used a more meaty cut of smoked pork, take it out and put it aside.

Strain the soup; pour it back in the pot; add the beets, cabbage, and the onions and potatoes cut in quarters. Peel and seed the tomatoes before putting them in. Add the vinegar and sugar.

Now put all the pieces of meat. Boil up. Let simmer for one hour. Add cooked navy beans. Cut the frankfurters in thick slices. Add them to the soup 20 minutes before serving.

When you’re ready to eat, skim the excess fat from the soup. Thicken the soup with the flour browned in butter. Add the juice of the raw beet mixed with water. Salt if needed. Cut all the meat in thick slices and put back in the soup. Serve piping hot, with a bowl of sour cream on the side. Very fancy Russian gourmets add strips of cold roast duck to this borsch a few minutes before serving.

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