Friday, July 3, 2009


This dessert is not traditional, but a mere derivation of a soviet (or even post-soviet) recipe that my mom used to make when I was a kid. The original recipe name transaltes as " Foaming Nigger" (terribly and inexplicably racist for some esoterical reason that escapes my comprehension), and quite often used to be a two-tier birthday cake with red berries jam in the middle. My 'lazy' version of the recipe does not involve any baking, which can be very convenient during those hot summer days.

You'll need:


500g non-fat cream cheese
(in these parts of the world it's called 'fromage frais')

2 tablespoons of caster sugar

1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

cookies ( I used 4 big soft speculaas cookies)


1. Mix the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest in a big bowl.

2. Take another bowl (or indivudual serving vessels of your choice :D) and put cookies on the bottom. You can break them in smaller pieces, or even crumbles. You can also replace cookies by any sort of cake*.

3. Cover the cookies with the cream cheese mix.

4. Put it in the fridge for about an hour, and that's it!


*The cookie part will turn quite soft as it will absorb part of the cream cheese. If you use very soft cake, it will take even less time in the fridge, about half an hour will be enough.




Thursday, June 4, 2009

Marinated Tomatoes

Marinated vegetables and pickles are a big part of russian/soviet cuisine, used as an every day side dish, or "zakuski" (which means that you eat a marinated tomato right after that small shot of cold vodka). Few people have the time to prepare it themselves nowadays, especially those who live in big cities. Pickles are prepared in a similar manner, and the marinade has a legendary "medicinal" value against hangovers, mainly due to the mineral components that supposedly dissolve in the water during the marination process.
Marinating vegetables at the end of summer is part of the ritual preparation before a long, cold winter. My grandmother used to make huge, 3L jars that she kept in a special dresser under the kitchen window. No need to wait till the summer ends - here's a quick version of marinated tomatoes that will be ready in two days time!


You will need:


a glass jar

a small pot


water

500g cherry or plum tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

10 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

dill

1 teaspoon of vinegar

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of salt


1. Before you start, you need to measure how much water you will need for the marinade. Here's a little trick : put all the tomatoes in the jar, and fill it with water. Then pour the water from the jar into the pot. Leave the tomatoes on the side for now.

2. Put all the ingredients except the tomatoes in the pot, and bring the marinade to boil. I strongly advise to taste the marinade and adjust the amount of vinegar and salt to your taste.

3. When the water is boiling, put the tomatoes in it for about a minute or two, until their skin pops. Some people prefer to take the skin off, but it is optional (and if you ask me - a blasphemy), especially when you're using small varieties of tomatoes.

4. Put it all back in the jar, and close the lid, and voila!

5. Keep the jar at room temperature for a day, and pop it in the fridge for another day. On the third day, serve it with oven baked potatoes, or eat as is ;)