Traditional Russian Pirozhki

Another Russian recipe that might take a little bit more time to make than a Russian salad, but pirozhki worth your time. You can use many different fillings, such as mashed potato, rice and eggs, mushrooms, different jams or fry cabbage. My personal favorites are mashed potato and fry cabbage. 

Use your imagination and preferences. 

Ingredients

Dough:

• 2 cups milk, warmed
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling: 

• 2 cups apple souse 
• 2 apples
• 1 orange zest
• 5-6 potatoes
• 1 cup onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1) Place 1/2 cup milk in a cup or small bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour the remaining milk into a large bowl.

2) Add the melted butter, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour to the large bowl with the milk. Stir in the yeast mixture. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and doesn't stick to your hands. Cover the bowl loosely and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour. Dough should almost triple in size.

3) While you wait for the dough to rise, prepare filling. Combine apple souse, cut apples and orange zest. Add some cinnamon. 

4) Boil potato and mash it. Fry onions and add it to potato. 

5) Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a long snake about 2 inches wide. Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten the balls by hand until they are 4 to 5 inches across. Place a spoonful of the  filling in the center and fold in half to enclose. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling.

6) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line one or two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Place the pirozhki onto the baking sheet, leaving room between them for them to grow.

7) Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

8) While pirozhki are hot grease it with melted butter. 

And finally pirozhki are ready! You can refrigerate it and heat it up later. 

Mini Berry Cream Pies

This is one of those desserts that probably has 5 calories in it. It's very easy to make it and it looks cute. 

Ingredients

• 
  
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 15 frozen mini phyllo cups (1.9-ounce package)
• 15 fresh raspberries

Directions

Beat cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar; beat until stiff. Fold in yogurt. Divide the yogurt cream among phyllo cups, keeping the cups in their plastic tray. Top each with 1 raspberry. Serve immediately, or chill for up to 4 hours.

Olivier Salad or a Very Traditional Russian Salad

Well, this is a very traditional Russian salad. I used to see it on New Year's table every year. I bet that if you pop up at some Russian party - you will have Olivier salad on your plate. I love this salad and being away from Russian made me miss this salad. My husband loved the salad and as I say, I think this salad is much better than a potato salad. 

Ingredients

10 oz Bologna (I prefer to add chicken instead)

4-5 pieces Potato 

2 pieces Carrots 

4 pieces Eggs 

1 piece White onion 

1 Apple

1 can Sweet peas 

3-4 tablespoons Mayo

Salt

Directions

1) Boil potato, carrots and eggs until ready. Cut it in small pieces. 

2) Cut apples, onions and bologna. Put all cut ingredients in a bowl, don't mix it. 

3) Add mayo, salt and pepper. 

4) Don't add mayo until you are ready to eat the salad. 

Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Do you like avocado as much as I like it? Then it's a perfect dish for you. I'm honestly not a big fan of salsa, but this recipe is definitely stays in my heart from now and on. It's super easy to make and it is a good option for healthy dinner. 

Ingredients

Chicken

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 oz each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salsa

• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced (seeds and ribs removed) 
• 2 tablespoons minced onion 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 avocado, peeled and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes

Directions

1) Whisk together the cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil in a bowl. 

2) Add the chicken and marinate for 10 minutes on the first side, then flip and marinate for an additional 10 minutes on the second side.

3) Remove the chicken from the marinade and season with the salt. Place the chicken on the grill pan or in the oven and cook until it's ready. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

4) While the chicken rests, make the salsa: Mix the tomato, jalapeno, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Add the avocado and gently mix to combine. Spoon the salsa over the chicken to serve.

And it's ready! 

My Perfect Broccoli Soup

I've tried a few broccoli soups recipes before, but I liked this one the most. It's very light and easy to make. And it goes so well with turkish bread! 

This recipe serves 3-4 people. And takes about 40 minutes to make. 

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/2 cup cream or milk; wipping cream
• Croutons

Directions

1) Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, onion, carrot, salt and pepper and saute until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. 

2) Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour reaches a blonde color. Add stock and bring to boil.

3) Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes. Pour in cream. With an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and then replace the lid back on the pot. Serve hot with Homemade Croutons.

Enjoy it! 

Turkish Flatbread Found in Germany- Fladenbrot With Nigella Seeds

My husband LOVES bread and soup. I always liked baking too, so I decided to refresh our memories of a trip to Turkey that we took last year and make this wonderful bread. It turned out really good. And it for sure brought some memories of the breeze from Bosporus and beautiful nights in Istanbul.

This bread takes 2 days to make, 10 minutes the first day and 3 hours the second (hands on time about 25 minutes). But don't worry, its not as hard as it seems. 

Makes 4, 6 ounce or 2, 12 ounce breads.

Ingredients:

***Sponge - Day 1***

• 1/2 c. warm water
• 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. sugar

***Dough - Day 2***

• 1 1/4 c. warm water (300 ml)
• 1 tsp. active dry yeast (4 grams)
• 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil (30 grams)
• 3 1/4 c. bread flour (375 grams)
• 1 T. salt (20 grams)
• Extra flour for adjustments and dusting
• Cornmeal, for dusting
• 1-2 T. nigella (black caraway) or sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Preparation:

Make the sponge: In a medium bowl, mix the water with the yeast and a 1/4 teaspoon sugar and let stand about 10 minutes. There may or may not be foam. Stir in the flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand overnight.

Make the dough: Add the yeast mixture (the sponge), the remaining 1 1/4 cup of water, yeast and the olive oil to a bowl. Stir in the flour and salt until a wet dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. It will be very sticky, use dough scraper if you have one and expect your hands to be covered with dough. Don't incorporate too much flour, this dough will be 75% - 80% hydration, which will help create the larger crumb.

Place the dough in a large, floured bowl, flour the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

To bake: Place a baking stone in the middle of the oven on a rack and heat the oven to 450°F for about one hour. While the oven is heating, remove the dough from its bowl onto a floured surface and divide it into 2 or 4 pieces.

Flatten (coax) each piece into a round or oblong with minimum degassing. Place them on parchment sprinkled with cornmeal or flour, on top of an overturned cookie sheet. Cover them with plastic and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.

Spray the breads lightly with water, sprinkle the ovals with the nigella seeds. Slide the ovals onto the hot stone in the oven (still on the parchment). Bake until crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Bread is Ready! Enjoy it!