Rapeseed Oil | Charlotte's VVeb

Russian Fast Food: Kotletki – Russian Burger Recipe

01/06/201022/10/2016 by Charlotte J

Kotletki are Russian fast food but unlike that of the Western world, they are delicious and healthy. They can be bought from the supermarket or when out and about and in need of a quick, hot snack. But most people would make these at home. So I gave it a go and I was impressed. Lovely chunky burgers, with great texture and taste.

Ingredients

1 grated potato

1 grated white onion

300g minced pork

300g minced beef

100g white breadcrumbs

40g butter

30ml rapeseed oil

100ml smetana (sour cream)

To serve with buckwheat:

350g buckwheat

Cook as instructed and add gently-fried slithers of white onion

Instructions

Add mince, potato and onion in a bowl and mix thoroughly

Make into small balls and pat flat into burgers

Place in breadcrumbs and thoroughly coat

Heat oil and butter in frying pan

Fry burgers in pan on each side for 2 to 3 minutes

Then put lid on pan and continue cooking on a low heat for 10 minutes

Serve with buckwheat and lashings of sour cream

Hungarian One-pot / Family Pork Porkolt Recipe

22/03/201019/10/2016 by Charlotte J

There is much more to Hungarian cooking than the stereotypical goulash, porkolt for one. Porkolt is an easy, one-pot, family dish and can be made with cubes of pork shoulder or veal. Just fry off the onion, add in the pork to seal the meat, add in the other ingredients, stir and leave to cook for a few hours on a low heat. Just serve with gnocchi or polenta. Super easy, super delicious!

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Ikra Iz Svekly

22/06/200917/10/2016 by Charlotte J

Ikra iz svekly (Beetroot Caviar to you and me) is a ‘poor man’s caviar’ usually served on rye bread. It’s pretty simple to make, can be prepared in advanced which means it would make a good canape for a cocktail party. Plus it caters to any potential vegetarian or vegan guests. I found this recipe in The Food & Cooking of Russia, mentioned in a previous post last week. However, I adapted it to be more Charlotte-friendly, in other words, I made it a little more interesting and a little bit easier.

Be warned, cooking with beetroot can leave you with pink hands, so if you want to avoid this, wear gloves. If you, like me, dislike wearing gloves, keep a lemon handy, it is the best soap for getting rid of stains!

Ingredients

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic

4 medium cooked beetroots

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 tbsp tomato puree

Salt and ground black pepper for seasoning

(To add an extra flavour I used smoked salt)

12 small pieces of rye bread to serve

Finely chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Chop the onion and garlic finely

Coarsely grate the beetroot

(I used a ricer to effectively mince the beetroot.

it worked well but was messy and due to not wearing gloves I now have very pink hands)

Heat the oil in a medium pan

Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes until softened and golden brown

Add the grated beetroot to the pan and fry, stirring all the time, for 5 minutes

Add tomato puree

Stir well and cover the pan

Simmer for 10 minutes

Season the mixture

Transfer to a bowl to cool

To serve pile the beetroot on the rye bread and sprinkle with chopped parsley to garnish

Serve!