Darra Goldstein

Darra Goldstein is an author and food scholar. She has published 17 books and is a frequent speaker at organizations and events around the world. Books include "Fire + Ice: Classic Nordic Cooking," "A Taste of Russia," and "The Georgian Feast," among others.

Russian Cuisine

Sour Cream Honey Cake (Сметанник)

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Sour cream and honey, two of Russia’s most iconic foods, are lusciously paired in this honey cake, with billows of sour cream complementing the cake’s chewy texture. The recipe is courtesy of Svetlana Kozeiko, the brilliantly inventive chef of Murmansk’s restaurant Tsarskaya Okhota (The Royal Hunt). This cake is ideal for entertaining, since it has to be chilled before slicing. I usually make it the morning of a dinner party and refrigerate it all day. The longer you hold the cake, the softer it becomes, so leftovers make an indulgent breakfast. To whip the frosting into luxuriant clouds you’ll need to seek out high-fat sour cream (see Sources).

Recipe from Beyond The North Wind.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 medium egg
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 12 ounces (1½ cups) high-fat sour cream
  • 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

In a small saucepan heat the butter and honey over low heat until the butter melts. Stir in the baking soda. The mixture will almost immediately bubble up, foam, and turn light in color. Don’t be alarmed by the smell of sodium bicarbonate that’s released—you won’t taste it. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, crack the egg into a medium bowl and whisk it by hand with the sugar for a few minutes, until light. Stir in the cooled butter mixture, then sift the flour directly into the bowl, stirring to make a very soft dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 20 minutes. The dough will firm up and become nicely pliable.

While the dough is resting, prepare the sour cream filling. Beat the sour cream and confectioners’ sugar in a heavy-duty mixer on high speed for 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Place in the refrigerator to chill, preferably for 1 hour.

When the dough has finished resting, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12” x 17” baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 4 pieces (each will weigh just under 4 ounces). Rinse your hands quickly with cold water and pat each piece out on the parchment into 5 ”x 5” squares about 1/8-inch thick. Bake the squares at 350ºF for 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. If you don’t plan to assemble the cake right away, store the cooled squares airtight so they don’t dry out.

When you’re ready to assemble the cake, place one cake square on a serving plate and spread it with one-quarter of the sour cream. Top with another cake square, and continue to layer the cake and sour cream, ending with sour cream on top. Make decorative swirls with the sour cream but don’t frost the sides of the cake.

Carefully transfer the cake to the refrigerator. If the sour cream is still soft and the layers should slide a bit as you move the cake, simply nudge them upright again. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to firm up before slicing.

Serves 8.

Note: If you can’t find high-fat sour cream, use half full-fat sour cream and half heavy (whipping) cream.

Twenty-Minute Pickles (Малосольные огурцы за 20 минут)

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These pickles couldn’t be simpler. The recipe comes from Katya Bruyaka in Murmansk, whose small kitchen is a wonderland of homemade distillations and preserves that allow her to throw together fabulous meals on the spur of the moment. When Katya served me these pickles, I worried that she might be using up the last of her precious summer preserves before winter had come to an end. But she just laughed and happily shared her secret with me. Now I make these pickles whenever I crave a quick Russian fix.

Ingredients

  • 3 mini cucumbers, unpeeled, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise into quarters (about 8 ounces)
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill (about 3 sprigs, coarse stems removed)
  • 1 tablespoon vodka

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a small ziploc sandwich bag and gently massage to distribute the seasonings evenly. Leave the bag on the counter for 20 minutes, turning it occasionally to bathe the cucumbers in the liquid that forms. The pickles will be ready after 20 minutes. They will hold well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Serves 4.

Recipe from Beyond The North Wind.

Raspberry Kvass

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This refreshing drink, with its subtle raspberry flavor and pale rose hue, tastes like summer. Unlike other types of kvass that require longer fermenting, this one is quickly prepared, taking only 24 hours from berry patch to mouth. Try drinking fruit kvass in place of lemonade for fewer calories and a probiotic boost.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 quart raspberries
  • 4 quarts water
  • ½ cup mild honey
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 12 raisins

Instructions

Pour the raspberries into a large stockpot and crush them with a potato masher. Add the water and bring to a rolling boil, then immediately remove the pot from the heat. Cool the liquid to lukewarm, about 105ºF.  This will take several hours.

Strain the raspberries through a double layer of cheesecloth into a 1-gallon jar. Discard the berries. Stir the honey into the warm liquid.

In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons of the raspberry water. When it foams, add it to the jar containing the rest of the liquid. Cover the jar with cheesecloth (fruit flies can’t resist this fermenting kvass!) and leave at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.

Prepare three 750-ml swing-top stoppered bottles by scalding them with hot water. Divide the kvass among the jars, adding 3 raisins to each bottle. Seal and leave the kvass to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours. Then transfer to the refrigerator. Serve well chilled.

Makes 1 gallon.

Recipe from Beyond The North Wind.

Russia in Recipes and Lore (November 17, 2020)

Join renowned food scholar and cookbook writer Darra Goldstein in conversation with Boris Fishman as she discusses her new cookbook, Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore.

More than just a collection of delicious recipes, Goldstein’s book uses travelogue, ethnography, and personal anecdote to explore Russia’s wild northern reaches. The conversation promises to be lively as Goldstein digs into the role of eating and drinking in Russian culture. She’ll also discuss the transformation of the Russian food scene from Soviet times into the present; the ever-inventive ways the Russians deal with scarcity, whether caused by droughts, war, or political sanctions; and what the Russian table can help us understand about Russia and Russians today, all the way to the man in the Kremlin.

Registration includes a code for a 20% discount on the purchase of Beyond the North Wind through Kitchen Arts & Letters. An access link will be emailed to you after purchase.

https://www.92y.org/event/russia-in-recipes-and-lore.aspx

Let’s Picnic Russian Style (July 1, 2020)

Meet us on the (virtual) lawn for a spirited session to celebrate the Russian Dacha picnic tradition.

Join Jewish Food Society, scholar Darra Goldstein and chef Sasha Shor for a conversation and workshop exploring the history and recipes of Russian Dacha picnic traditions. Darra will guide us on creating a Russian picnic “blanket-scape” using pieces from her own collection and travels. Sasha will demo pickled watermelon, Okroshka (cold vegetable soup with kefir and pickle brine), and potato, scallion and egg pirozhki, recipes her family brought with them from the Soviet Union to Nashville in the late 1970s and inspired by Darra’s new cookbook, Beyond the North Wind. After the session, we hope you’ll hold your own socially distanced summer picnic, Russian style.

*P.S. Have your vodka ready because according to Darra and Sasha, no Russian gathering can begin without a shot!

Register here for this free event https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lets-picnic-russian-style-w-darra-goldstein-and-sasha-shor-tickets-108147558258

Personalized copies of Darra’s new cookbook, Beyond the North Wind can be purchased here: https://bit.ly/30WN8So

Sasha’s recipes can be found here on our digital recipe archive.

Real Russian Cuisine: Beyond Borscht and Potatoes (May 2020)

Online Continuing Education: A Lively Look at Russian Cuisine Through Recipes and Literature

In times of austerity Russians have discovered not only how to survive but how to turn basic ingredients into tasty meals. During this quarantine period, we can learn from their food practices and see how a limited availability of foods can yield delicious dishes characterized by exhilarating flavors and innovative techniques.

In four sessions (May 11, May 14, May 18 and May 21) we’ll explore the ways that Russians have historically preserved the bounty from their short growing season through various forms of fermenting, curing, and preserving. Through demonstration and discussion we’ll identify different ways to incorporate their simple, nourishing foods into our American diet. Along the way we’ll read short works by Gogol, Chekhov, and Tolstoy, with suggested additional readings to amplify your experience and understanding of Russia’s gastronomic and literary traditions.

This mini-course is for anyone who has ever had an interest in the richness of Russian culture, appreciates reading classic authors in a new light, wants to expand or hone their cooking skills, or is looking to make something new from the pantry.

“My friends, what glorious flavors there are in the world! … ah, sweet nectar of life!

Rudi Panko, beekeeper, in Nikolai Gogol’s Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka

https://www.92y.org/class/real-russian-cuisine