Russian cuisine, more than caviar?

Although a lot of people have no clue, Russian cuisine was thousands years ago, inspired from Asian cultures. This amazing geography Russia has, and the extension of land, seas and mountains, has made this country a gastronomy expert. 

Maybe you never thought about Russia; we as Europeans, sometimes think that Russia is just a big country next to us, and it’s true, but we've never really got into it.

Russian cuisine has developed to be very multicultural, and created a different cuisine depending on the region you are, but the concept is the same.

With a coolinary base made of soups, tubers, bread, vegetables, meat and fish they do a lot of combinations.

The most famous dish in Russia is called Palmeni, it’s considered the national dish.They are pastry dumplings typically filled with minced meat and wrapped in a thin, pasta-like dough and it’s curious because if you think about it, it’s like a ravioli made with a meatball inside. 

A very good example of multiculturality is the Russian kebab called Shashlik. Like any kebab, they consist of cubed meat and veggies grilled on skewers. They have roots in the Caucasian Mountains, where 19th-century tribe members would prepare them over an open flame. Who would have said to me that they had kebabs?

If you like seafood, try Ukha, a fish soup with a clear broth. Many different kinds of fish can be used to make this soup, including bream, wels catfish, northern pike, and ruffe. The remaining ingredients are not unlike what you might find in a traditional chicken soup-think root vegetables, parsley, leeks, and dill.

And if you crave for another drink that isn't vodka, here you have Kvass, which is a refreshing fermented beverage with slight carbonation. Although it has a very slight alcohol content, it is not considered an alcoholic beverage. It is made from black or regular rye bread or dough and can be flavored with a variety of different things, ranging from honey to berries to herbs.

So now that you know that Russia is more than caviar, what are you waiting for? Come here to Russia, and explore this amazing cuisine culture, I promise you it won’t disappoint!

Pere Coll Parra