Anya von Bremzen, author with John Welchman of ”Please to the Table”
(Workman, $18.95), is fresh from a visit to the Soviet Union and readily acknowledges that many citizens of that fragmented, fractious nation would object to its subtitle, ”The Russian Cookbook.”
”It was a compromise with the publisher,” she said. ”They convinced me that calling it `The Soviet Union Cookbook` wouldn`t help sales.”
Nor is the husky, 659-page book divided along ethnic lines, although there are essays on the cuisines of a half-dozen regions, including Russia, the Baltic states, Georgia and Ukraine. Instead, it presents this marvelously varied culinary repertory by courses, with additional chapters on dumplings and noodles, breads and savory pies, pickled side dishes and feast items.
”I prefer to divide the cuisine into summer and winter foods,” Von Bremzen says. ”During the winter I crave soups, meat pies, sauerkraut-food from Russia, the Ukraine, the Baltic. In summer I turn to the Caucasus and Central Asia and enjoy dishes with grain and fruit and vegetables in the eastern Mediterranean tradition.”
Her most recent trip took her to the Tashkent and other outlying areas, where, despite political unrest, she found ”the supply situation better because the provinces are keeping their own food products instead of sending them to Moscow.”
Von Bremzen, who grew up in Moscow, spent three years on the book, tailoring its 400 recipes to make them easily accessible to American cooks.
The food she loves ”fits the American mood,” she says.
”It is hearty, homey and economical. The Russo-Gallic haute cuisine of the 19th Century really has been lost.”
Guests are served great quantities of food even by the poor because of a tradition of hospitality and a need to impress.
”Showing off is a big part of the Russian personality,” she says.
Asked to select a menu from the book that would allow an American cook to show off, she selected mushroom croquettes from Byelorussia, a traditional Ukrainian honey cake and two recipes that follow. The braised beef is Lithuanian in origin.
”One of the most delicious pot roasts I have ever tasted,” she writes in the book.
ARMENIAN LENTIL AND APRICOT SOUP
6 servings
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 1/2 cups dried split red lentils, rinsed thoroughly
5 cups chicken stock or canned broth
3 medium-size fresh, ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and dried apricots. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 12 minutes.
2. Add the lentils and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, cumin, thyme and salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove half the soup and puree it in a food processor. Return the puree to the pot. Stir a few times, then season the soup with the lemon juice and additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Simmer, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes longer.
5. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
BRAISED BEEF STUFFED WITH HORSERADISH
6 servings
4 slices bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds beef bottom round or chuck, in a thick piece
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 medium-size onions, chopped medium-fine
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 parsnips, peeled and julienned
1 rib celery, diced
2 tablespoons vodka
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock or canned broth
Bouquet garni (4 sprigs parsley, 4 sprigs dill, 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves and 8 to 10 black peppercorns, tied in a cheesecloth bag)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup prepared white horseradish, drained
2 tablespoons unflavored fine, dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy heatproof casserole or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, saute the bacon over medium heat until it renders its fat. Remove and discard the bacon (or reserve for another use).
2. Rub the beef with salt and pepper, then add it to the bacon fat and brown well on all sides over medium heat. Remove the meat to a plate. Add the vegetables to the casserole and saute, stirring occasionally, until they begin to color, about 10 minutes. Return the beef to the casserole.
3. Combine the vodka and vinegar and pour over the meat. Add the wine, stock and bouquet garni, and bring to a boil.
4. Place the casserole in the oven and bake, covered, for 3/4 hours, turning occasionally. When the meat feels almost tender when you test it with a skewer, remove the casserole from the oven, leaving the oven on. Transfer the meat to a carving board.
5. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan, over low heat. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the horseradish to the saucepan and simmer, stirring, until hot. Stir in the bread crumbs and sugar and simmer for about 1 minute.
6. (If you wish, omit the following step and merely stir the horseradish mixture into the sauce.) With a very sharp knife, make 2 lengthwise cuts through the meat as if you were cutting it into 3 equal layers, but cutting only 5/6ths of the way through. Spread the horseradish mixture evenly between the cuts and tie the meat with kitchen string so it holds its shape.
7. Stir the remaining horseradish into the pan juices. Return the meat to the casserole and continue to bake, covered, for another 45 minutes. The meat is done when a knife inserted into its thickest part penetrates easily. Remove the meat to a cutting board and cover with foil.
8. Strain the pan juices through a sieve into a small saucepan, pressing on the vegetables with the back of a spoon.
9. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in another small pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of the pan juices and stir until blended. Whisk the mixture back into the remaining pan juices.
10. Cut the meat into slices across its length so each piece gets some of the horseradish mixture. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and spoon some of the sauce over. Pass the remaining sauce separately in a sauceboat.
