Russian – FoodWatcher

russian napoleon

This cake is a Russian New Year’s Eve tradition, and therefore no, this recipe I’ve been promising to share for 15 years isn’t late, rolling up here with a mere 36 hours left in the year, it’s exactly on time. The Napolyeon Tort is inspired by a classic mille-feuille (French for “thousand leaves”) which is made with layers of puffed pastry filled with pastry cream. The Russian version has far more layers and, like the Russian Honey Cake, is coated with crumbs made from extra cake. It was created in 1912, when it was created to honor the 100th anniversary of Russia’s defeat of Napoleon’s invasion — initially it was shaped to resemble his triangular bicorne (hat); the crumbs are said to represent the snow that did the French troops in. Due to ingredient limitations, margarine often replaces butter, the cream is sometimes made without eggs, and the cake layers are more brittle than a traditional pâte feuilletée, but as each family makes it their own way, you’d be pressed to find two recipes that agree on what makes a perfect one.

How to Make Perfect, Just-Fluffy-Enough Blini

I recently fell back in love with blini. Yes, we had been on a bit of a hiatus—I remembered them as not-always-flavorful disks, mere vessels for whatever tasty filling tops them. But true blini, made from yeast-risen buckwheat batter, are actually burs…

They make amazing appetizers and cocktail party fare, but larger-sized blini (read on!) can make fabulous brunches and even dinner entrées, especially with a crisp salad nearby. Want to get in on the blini action? Here’s what you need to know.

What Exactly Is Russian Food Today?

Darra Goldstein’s written four cookbooks on Russian cuisine—each starkly different, reflective of her own ever-evolving understanding of and relationship to the continent. Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore, her latest book, came from a …

Darra Goldstein's written four cookbooks on Russian cuisine—each starkly different, reflective of her own ever-evolving understanding of and relationship to the continent. Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore, her latest book, came from a realization that the her first three cookbooks—on elaborate tsarist, austere Soviet, and cross-cultural Georgian—were not at all indicative of how Russians eat and cook today. To define “Russian” cuisine today called for a return to the elemental, the geographical.

Coral Lee: What first sparked this interest in Russian culture and cuisine?