Pleasant Peasant Food
Cooking and preparing Russian entrees, including recipes for tvorg, Smetana, varentez, drachona, cucumber with smetana, golubtsy (stuffed cabbage leaves).
by Tom Reidy
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The USSR covers one-sixth of the world's surface, embraces
13 republics, and is home to scores of ethnic groups. Among
these are many strains of sturdy peasant stock who have
developed their own frugal yet satisfying lifestyles . . .
lifestyles that include some superb traditional cookery. A
number of Russian dishes rely heavily on milk by-products
and may interest MOTHER readers who own bountiful dairy
animals.
TVOROG
Tvorog , the Russian cream cheese, is eaten
extensively—either by itself or in a variety of
dishes-and is a good use for sour milk.
To make this specialty, put at least two quarts of
solidified sour milk into a muslin bag and hang it over a
basin to strain off the whey. Leave the curd until it
becomes firm but not too dry, and mash it until it's smooth
and creamy. The cheese is especially good mixed with
chopped chives and a pinch of salt and eaten on buttered
rye bread.
SMETANA
Smetana—sour cream— is easy to make:
Just leave heavy cream in a warm place until it becomes
tart in flavor . . . a matter of two or three days, unless
you accelerate the process by the addition of a teaspoon of
sour milk or a few drops of lemon juice. Be careful not to
let the product go cheesy.
VARENETZ
The following ingredients are needed for this old Russian
dish:
8 cups creamy milk
1 cup smetana
Cinnamon
Sugar
Rye breadcrumbs
Pour the milk into a wide earthenware dish and cook it in
the oven at very low heat. When a skin forms and the milk
assumes a faint golden color, push the film to the bottom
of the pan. Repeat this step five or six times. Then remove
the dish from the oven and let it stand until the milk is
tepid. Add the smetana, mix the pudding well, and
let it sit in a warm place for 24 hours. Refrigerate the
dish until it's wanted, and serve it sprinkled with sugar,
cinnamon, and rye breadcrumbs.
DRACHONA
Drachona—a baked batter —can
be eaten with roasted meat as a pleasant change from
Yorkshire pudding, or sprinkled with sugar and served hot
with melted butter as a dessert. You'll need the following
ingredients:
1 cup flour
3 eggs
2/3 cup smetana
Salt
2-1/2 cups milk
Place the flour in a bowl, make a hollow in the mound,
break the eggs into the depression, and mix well. Blend in
the smetana, add a pinch of salt, and beat the
combination until it's smooth and light. Warm the milk and
add it gradually to the mixture. Continue beating for a few
minutes.. Then pass the batter through a sieve, pour it
into a buttered dish, and bake it in a moderate oven for 30
minutes. If the dish is to be served as a dessert, pour 6
tablespoons of melted butter over it and sprinkle with 2
tablespoons of sugar.
