Ken Szulczyk's Website

Borsch - Russian Beet Soup

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Ingredients

• 1 pound of steak
• Several beef bones or parts (or Swanson's beef broth)
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 medium sized beets, diced
• 1 large carrot - sliced into disks
• 2 or 3 medium sized potatoes, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper and salt
• 1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings
• Half head of cabbage, thinly sliced
• Sour cream

Directions

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium heat and cover. Brown both sides. The caramelization will give the broth more flavor.
2. Add water and beef bones and parts. Cover with a lid and softly simmer from two to four hours. For tough meat, simmer longer to soften the meat. You could add water and simmer the beef steak to soften it. Then add Swanson's beef broth using the ratio - one part water to one part broth.
3. This step is optional especially if your meat has a lot of fat. You let the broth cool and place in a refrigerator over night. The saturated fat will float to the top and solidify. Then you scoop out the fat with a spoon and re-heat the broth.
4. Add onions, beets, carrots, bay leaves, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for at least an half hour.
5. Add the diced potatoes and simmer for additional 20 minutes. With 10 minutes remaining, add the sliced cabbage.
6. Serve soup into bowls and add a dollop of sour cream to the top.

Tip: Borsch is a soup, so you can add or remove ingredients you like. Some add beans to the soup while others elminate the onions.

Tip: If beet juice splashes on the counter top or table, make sure you wipe the beet juice up immediately. Beet juice will stain counter and table tops.

Kasha-Rice Porridge

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice
• 5 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 cup of milk

Directions

1. Important - Select a soft glutinous rice. Central Asian rice is good for kasha. It is a short, stubby rice that breaks down if cooked too long.
2. Add rice, sugar, and water to a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Then reduce hear and simmer until most of the water disappears. You may need to add more water.
3. Add milk and butter.
4. Serve hot.

Tip: Add more sugar, if necessary.

Plof-Central Asian Rice Dish

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Ingredients

• 1 pound of cubed beef (or chicken)
• 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 3 large, sliced carrots
• 1 large diced onion
• 6 gloves of garlic
• 2 cups of rice
• 4 1/2 cups of water
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Saute beef (or chicken) and oil in a large pot over medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated.
2. Add carrots, onion, and garlic, and saute until soften. Try to caramelize the vegetables and meat, as this adds favor to the rice.
3. Add water and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover pot with a lid and simmer over low heat until rice is cooked.

Tip: The rule of thumb is one cup of rice and two cups of water. However, you may want to adjust the water to have the rice with the right consistency.

Tip: In Uzbekistan, they add raisin or dried apricots when rice is almost finished cooking.

Pelmeni - Russian Dumplings

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Ingredients

Meat Stuffing

• 1 pound of ground beef or minced beef
• 1 finely diced yellow onion
• 1 egg
• Teaspoon of salt
• Teaspoon of black pepper

Dough

• 3 cups flour
• Water
• 2 eggs
• Teaspoon of salt

Directions

Recipe has three parts. The first part is making the stuffing.

1. Mix ground beef, the egg, diced onions, and salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Refrigerate until you need the stuffing.

The second part is making the dough.

1. Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl. Crack two eggs in a measuring cup and fill with water until you have one cup.
2. Add the water and eggs to the flour and mix it. Once the dough forms a clump, use your hands to pick up the dough and form a ball. If the dough is too clumpy, add a touch more water. If dough is too soft, add a touch more flour.
3. Form a ball and keep turning the ball inside out. You must knead the dough for at least fifteen minutes.
4. Dust flour on the dough ball and place in a bowl. Let the dough rest for an hour. This dough should not rise.
5. After an hour, remove the dough and knead it again for five minutes.

Now we put the pelmeni together for the third part. Note, I make my pelmeni large.

1. I dust the counter top with flour and roll the dough into a large tube about a half inch thick.
2. Using a butter knife, I cut inch long strands. Then I use a rolling pin to flatten each strand into a two-inch disk.
3. I add a teaspoon of meat to the center. I dab the edge of the dough with water.
4. I pull the dough over the meat to cover the filling inside.
5. I press on the sides to seal the meat and squeeze out the air.
6. I shape the pelmeni into a noodle resembling tortellini.
7. I dust a plate flour and place pelmeni on it. Then I freeze the pelmeni. Once the noodle is frozen, I place into a ziplock bag.

Cooking pelmeni is easy. I bring water in a pot to a rolling boil. I slip the frozen pelmeni into the water and boil the dumplings in water. When the pelmeni rises to the surface, the dumplings are ready.

Tip: Russians sprinkle a vinegar-black pepper sauce on the dumplings made from diluted vinegar and a teaspoon of black pepper. While I like to sprinkle the dumplings with hot sauce and black pepper.

Perashki - Russian Fried Bread

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Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes

• 5 to 6 medium sized potatoes
• 1/4 cup of real butter
• Evaporated milk
• Teaspoon of salt

Dough

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cupvof water
• Tablespoon of white sugar
• Package of yeast
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• Teaspoon of salt
• Good deep frying oil such as palm olein

Directions

Recipe has three parts. The first part is making the mashed potatoes.

1. To make mashed potatoes, peel the potatoes and boil in water for 30 minutes until soft. Poke a potato with a fork. If the fork easily pierces the potato, then the potatoes are ready.
2. Immediately drain the water and place the potatoes into a mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork and add the butter, salt, and a sprinkle of evaporated milk.
3. Use a blender to puree the potatoes. Drizzle more evaporated milk until the potatoes are nice and creamy.

Note: To get a good consistency, you must puree the potatoes when they are hot.

The second part is making the dough.

1. Add the flour, sugar, oil, and yeast to a mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients and add the salt. Do not add the salt on top of the yeast since salt will kill the yeast.
2. Add about 3/4 cup of water to the mixture and mix it. Once it forms a clump, use your hands to pick up the dough and form a ball. If the dough is too clumpy, add a touch more water. If dough is too soft, add a touch more flour.
3. Form a ball and keep turning the ball inside out. You must knead the dough for at least fifteen minutes.
4. Dust flour on the dough ball and place in a bowl. Then cover the bowl for an hour and set in a warm place. The dough will expand and fill with air pockets.5. After an hour, remove the dough and knead it again for five minutes.

Now we put the perashki together for the third part.

1. Note, I make my Perashki large, so I divide the dough into 8 or 10 pieces. I tear off dough and roll it into a small ball.
2. I dust the table or counter top with flour. Then I use a rolling pin to flatten each dough ball into a rounded, small pancake about the size of my hand.
3. I add a tablespoon of mash potatoes to the middle of the dough.
4. I dip my finger in water and moisten the edge of the dough.
5. I pull the dough over the mashed potatoes to cover the filling inside.
6. I press on the sides to seal the potatoes and squeeze out the air.
7. I shape the perashki into an oblong shape and carefully add it to a pan of heated oil.
8. I cook the dough until it is golden brown and flip the perashki and brown the other side.8. I use a spatula to remove the perashki and set on a plate covered with paper napkins.

Tip: I never have tried it but I imagine I could add shredded cheese or corn to the mash potatoes.

Vinagret - Russian Beet Salad

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Ingredients

• 1 small, finely diced onion
• 1 large beet or two small beets
• 1 large pickle
• Half can of sauerkraut, or about 7 ounces
• 2 small carrots
• 5 potatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Finely dice and mix the onion, sauerkraut, and pickles together. You may add more sauerkraut to suit your tastes.
2. I peel the skin off the beet or beets and boil in water for an hour, or until soft. The beets are boiled separately from the potatoes and carrots, otherwise, you will stain them purple.
3. I peel off the potato and carrot skins before adding to water. Boil potatoes and carrots until soft. If you can easily pierce the potato with a fork, then the potatoes are ready. The rule of thumb is the salad should be half potatoes and the other half the other ingredients.
4. After the potatoes, carrots, and beets have cooled, mix them with the other ingredients. Then drizzle a little olive oil and blend carefully. I add enough olive oil to obtain an even coating on everything.
5. The salad tastes best if it sits in a refrigerator over night. The potatoes will absorb the flavors of the other ingredients.

Tip: This salad is unusual because the pickles, beets, and sauerkraut add the right balance of sour and sweetness to the salad. Salt and pepper is not necessary.

Tip: You can use fast pickles for pickles with a more crunch. I include the recipe's link for fast pickles.