Notes about Recipes in this book

• Quick-fermented cucumbers

  • meginyeg on May 07, 2023

    These were good. I didn't have black tea or horseradish leaves but it still turned out.

• Pickled cabbage leaves with beetroot

  • Stephenn31 on December 26, 2023

    It was ok. The cabbage was sweeter than expected

• Beetroot kvas

  • snackbaby on February 16, 2025

    love love! nice to have a small glass everyday

• Buckwheat drop scones

  • cuaileanruadh on October 23, 2022

    These are delicious and not too sweet, really nice alternative to normal pancakes. If you can remember to make up the batter with sourdough the night before, they come together really quickly the next morning/day. Lovely, thanks Olia!

• Odesan zakuska

  • Lepa on October 21, 2020

    This made a great pantry lunch for my family. I used Westermacher pumpernickle bread. I had to add a bit of salt at the end but it was otherwise perfect. I will definitely make this again!

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on August 21, 2022

    Supereasy and very nice. This was gone in an instant at a party with friends. I used hellmans mayonaise, more than salty enough.

  • jenburkholder on February 15, 2023

    Surprisingly tasty and kept well - made a nice week’s lunch component.

  • Yildiz100 on November 04, 2024

    I just used this as a guide and eyeballed the proportions and it was delicious both times. I don't think you can go wrong with this.

• Christmas borsch with mushroom dumplings

  • Nichill on January 03, 2025

    This was delicious! The broth was clear and beautiful. The dumplings were very tasty. We added a tablespoonful of red wine vinegar in lieu of having any Kvaas.

• Split pea and bread soup

  • Lepa on October 06, 2020

    "Soak overnight?" I scoffed. " Five hours should be enough!" It wasn't. This soup took two hours to cook and I did end up using the pressure cooker for the last ten minutes to soften the peas. We all loved the soup but, then again, we were starving by the time it finished. I do recommend it- but soak those peas!!

• Mushroom broth with sour pickles

  • meginyeg on May 07, 2023

    Used the quick pickle recipe for the pickle and pickle juice. This was good. Tasty and decently hardy. Would say it was sour though.

• Sourdough garlic buns

  • Lepa on May 31, 2021

    I usually make the pampushky from Mamushka but those must be started the night before. This recipe says you can make pampushky with the dough for bilberry donuts on page 300. I tried and it was a miserable failure. The buns were hard as hockey pucks, even after 25 minutes. I am not sure where I went wrong. Maybe it was trying to combine two recipes without clear instructions or maybe it was the yeast(?) In any case, it was really disappointing to put so much time into a recipe and have it turnout so terribly. I will stick to the other overnight pampushky recipe from now on...

• Dumplings with beans and potato

  • Lepa on January 31, 2022

    These were really good. Next time I'd add more salt to the filling and maybe roll the dough and cut circles instead of following the instructions here, which was a bit fussy for me but did work. These were delicious with the topping of fried onions, pancetta and sour cream. Pure comfort food!

• Raw turnip and scallion salad with yoghurt dressing

  • TrishaCP on June 08, 2024

    This is an easy and tasty side salad. I used kohlrabi in this instead of turnips.

• Apple, celery and kraut salad

  • MyKitchenInHalfCups on November 17, 2025

    Sounds very odd but with good sauerkraut this is excellent. Radishes sliced thin, m?ini red, yellow bell peppers would add good color. My book does not list red chiles, allspice berries, celery leaves, horseradish leaves or dill flowers.

• Courgettes with herbaceous lyok dressing

  • jenburkholder on August 04, 2022

    Quite tasty. Frying the squash gave them a nice richness that was then cut with the sharp dressing. Very summery.

• Cabbage and cucumber salad

  • joneshayley on July 24, 2020

    Beautiful , full of flavour. Great accompaniment

  • Yildiz100 on March 29, 2024

    The directions call for a tablespoon of salt, but I believe this is a typo and that a teaspoon is enough, or maybe a bit more if the cabbage is large. Made with tender spring cabbage this is outstandingly delicious.

  • Lepa on June 04, 2026

    I followed the directions and added a tablespoon of salt despite some doubts. I should have checked the notes here first! I agree with the other poster, 1 teaspoon seems more reasonable. I used pumpkin oil as suggested because I am Slovenian and always have it on hand and it was great in this salad.

• Beetroots with apple and nuts

  • mjes on August 24, 2021

    Vinegared beets with walnuts is a familar combination. The addition of apple is enough of a twist to catch your attention but not to make the side compete with the entree.

• Barley, bean and mushroom casserole

  • Lepa on October 23, 2020

    My husband and I liked this hearty stew but my kids didn't eat much (because they were wolfing down some challah). This did have lots of steps and took a while but I'll probably make it again. I used some bullion to improve the broth flavor and recommend that.

• Braised cabbage of Sean's dreams

  • Apollonia on August 28, 2020

    Phenomenally good, but do note it took forever (as it does) for the onions to caramelize, so plan to have this going a while on your stove. Outstanding nonetheless.

  • Lepa on August 29, 2020

    This cabbage is so unusual and delicious! We ate it with fresh bread, which was great dunked in the sauce. My whole family loved it.

  • jenburkholder on November 03, 2022

    Maybe not quite “of dreams,” but still a very tasty cabbage dish! Ate with rye bread and stewed lentils.

  • Boffcat on April 24, 2023

    Oh, how I love this. I often make a vegan crème fraiche from cashew nuts, to use in place of the dairy version.

  • Stephenn31 on June 29, 2023

    Takes a while to braise but rather easy. Better as a side dish than a main with bread. Don’t worry about over seasoning

  • Yildiz100 on November 12, 2024

    This took some time bit didn't require too much attention while it cooked. I reduced the creme fraiche to 56 grams because I sometimes don't like very rich dishes, and thought it was plenty creamy and saucy. (Of course size of cabbage is a factor.) I took the time to juice 2 tomatoes but I don't think I will do that in the future as it was very pale. A spoonful of passage perked it up, and I would just use a couple of spoonfuls of puree or passata in the future.

• Fried tomatoes with garlic and cheese

  • Yildiz100 on January 14, 2025

    So delicious! Made with Turkish style white cheese. A perfect breakfast

• Crushed potatoes with broad beans

  • Lepa on November 11, 2020

    This is such an unusual dish and it is so good. It's the perfect comfort food: a bowl of soft, creamy potatoes that have been fried with onions and bacon, mixed with fava beans and made creamy with some creme fraiche and dill. Everyone in my family loved this and it's going on the permanent rotation. Some notes: I used two large baking potatoes, two pounds of unshucked favas (each pod had a couple of beans; no way one pound would be enough) and about 4 oz of bacon. Also, I added the potatoes and favas to the skillet with the fried onions and bacon and sauteed it all together.

• Potato cakes stuffed with bean and feta paste

  • Rradishes on April 15, 2022

    I used the citrus side of the box grater and now I wonder if should've used the even finer side, or food processor. The cakes were good, but the yeast didn't seem to add anything - maybe because the potatoes were grated too coarse? Also, did not use instant yeast so that could be why too. Might try again in the future, and with different fillings too.

• Pot-roast chicken cooked in herby crème fraîche

  • joneshayley on July 24, 2020

    This is brilliant, succulent and infused with herbs. Not much sauce lasted to baste the bird though.

  • aberne on December 08, 2020

    A lot of garlic that i felt didn't mellow enough when cooking. Next time I would maybe cook it a bit first to take out some of the pungency and only use half. Very rich dish - serve with something a bit lighter on the side. Good, but not really a repeat for me.

  • Indio32 on October 31, 2021

    Had this for today's Sunday lunch. Used a 1.2kg organic chicken that needed to be used up after previous plans for it fell through. Used French crème fraîche from Waitrose which I feel has a fuller bodied flavour than the English version. Used 50/50 parsley & dill which worked well. As it was named pot roast chicken was surprised to see a roasting pan and tin foil called for. I used a 20cm cast iron pot with lid for the first 45 mins than took lid off for the last bit of cooking. Ended up with enough flavourful liquid for the sauce. Eaten with roasted vegetables and some cous cous. An enjoyable Sunday meal!

• Slow-roast pork with kraut and dried fruit

  • meginyeg on February 21, 2022

    We all loved this. Super tasty and easy. We will have again.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on March 26, 2022

    Wow, fantastic dish.

• Steamed bilberry doughnuts

  • Lepa on May 31, 2021

    I usually make the pampushky from Mamushka but those must be started the night before. This book (pg. 158) says you can make pampushky with the dough for these donuts. I tried and it was a miserable failure. The buns were hard as hockey pucks, even after 25 minutes. I am not sure where I went wrong. Maybe it was trying to combine two recipes without clear instructions or maybe it was the yeast(?) In any case, it was really disappointing to put so much time into a recipe and have it turnout so terribly.

• Poppyseed, pecan and apple strudel

  • Apollonia on October 20, 2020

    Made this with walnuts and beautiful poppyseeds from Burlap & Barrel (the best). Really lovely and actually pretty quick all told since it relies on filo rather than yeasted dough. The apples are quite nice with the poppyseeds as well.

• Lyuba's honey and berry teacake

  • Boffcat on April 24, 2023

    I substituted a mix of coconut and olive oil for the lard. My cake was cooked within 1 hour. This was perfectly pleasant, but a bit solid and 'worthy' tasting.

• Poppyseed babka

  • jenburkholder on December 05, 2022

    I liked this, but do have a few comments and quibbles. I added a generous teaspoon of yeast, and am glad i did - not sure my starter was up to the task. The method for incorporating the butter/sugar mix was weird - difficult to blend in to an already well-mixed dough. The filling was delicious (I subbed hazelnuts) but an awkward amount to make in the food processor, you’d really need a mini. Mine also took significantly longer to bake, and still ended up doughy in a couple spots. Still, would repeat (at least the filling).

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