A
few years ago I was very fortunate indeed, to be able to visit Russia and the
Ukraine and was a guest for a lovely time at the British Embassy in Moscow. The
stay in the British Embassy was amazing...
They
looked after us so well and it was such a treat and a privilege to stay in their
lovely high-up penthouse apartment and each evening to sit outside on the
decking with a glass of Russian champagne in hand and take in the sunset and surrounding
vistas of the fascinating city of Moscow.
An
early evening view of the city of Moscow from our penthouse apartment at the
British Embassy,
The
view takes in one of the famous Moscow Seven Sisters, seen here on the left, part
of the neo-classical buildings build in the Stalinist era and now, ironically,
part of the Radisson Hotel group whose HQ is based in the USA.
And
a few minutes later when the sun set, the lights shimmered across the water...
The
Russian and Ukrainian cultures were so exotic and different from our own.
The
local markets were not only full of stalls selling both the familiar and the
unfamiliar vegetables and flowers but also selling amber jewellery, painted religious
icons, fur hats and Matryoshka dolls...
The buildings in the cities were also amazing...
The
interiors of the large churches we visited were on the whole, rather dark and
gloomy and it was difficult to see around but when you came across a lit area,
the views were incredible, with the walls covered in vibrant colours and gold
leaf...
Each
time you turned a corner inside these buildings, there were yet more beautiful
views...
The
sights we visited and saw were fantastic.
The weather, however, was not that
good-frequent very heavy rain and even an unexpected mini tornado in the heart
of the city of Moscow on one very, very scary occasion. And many thanks indeed
to some gallant Russian policemen who saw us hanging onto to some spindly trees
for dear life as the tornado suddenly hit and enabled us to take shelter in
their local police station whilst the tornado passed by!
Afterwards it was
really scary to see the devastation and debris on the path we would have been
walking down. Huge billboards, fences and trees had been torn down and were strewn
across the very path we would have been walking...
On
other days it was much more peaceful...
There
were some lovely sights to behold at the end of the day, when miraculously the
weather would be calm and there would be a lovely pink sunset.
Even
off the usual tourist trail there were incredible places to see, though we were
usually the only English speaking people to be visiting...
You
could turn a corner and just literally gasp at what you saw...
And
just through an open doorway would be another incredible view...
Wedding
parties would also visit the scenic spots-it was not unheard of for them to
visit 12 places on the day of the wedding to get those all important photo
opportunities-we saw many such couples...such as this one at The Hermitage in
St Petersburg.
Just
wonderful sights on every corner, but I won’t go on as I would be here all
day...
Gardening
wise I did not get to see many home gardens. Most of the local professional
people I met, lived in very tiny city apartments and found the fact that I
lived in a house with more than one bedroom and with a garden-albeit small-truly
amazing indeed...The more well off i.e. consultant doctors had a second home in
the countryside-a Dacha-here they would grow lots of fruit and vegetables which
they would bring back to their city home. The Dachas though were far from being
opulent, summer homes. Many were very simple and basic, lacking electricity etc
and situated right next to main roads but were still considered a ‘luxury’ by
Russian standards...
Food
wise I had a ‘few’ problems as I do not eat meat...Much of the Russian cuisine
revolves around meat for the well-off as it is considered a luxury. Trying to
say I did not eat meat was difficult as that could be construed as an insult
implying I did not think the host could afford meat...
Luckily
I eat fish, and one of the favourite dishes on offer was ‘fish and chips with
champagne’. The fish although called
Salmon, was usually roast Sturgeon and served with fried potatoes coated in
herbs and spices and the meal was accompanied with copious amounts of Russian
champagne-which, I have to say, was dramatically cheaper than even the imported
Pepsi or Coco cola!!!
In
the Ukraine, there were many dishes with peppers, cream and paprika. We were
advised though, by The British Foreign Office, to avoid dishes including
mushrooms when visiting Kiev because of the resulting nuclear fallout from
Chernobyl which still affects mushrooms even then, grown in the vicinity.
And
as for Russian Vodka...well don’t get me started...I am a complete and utter
novice, and even after many, many ‘lessons’ I am still an utter novice...ice,
lemon, lime, frozen, partly frozen, shots, mixers etc..
but
I did enjoy those lessons...
Back
to the food...
Continuing
on the Russian theme...
Mushroom Stroganoff Pizza
Many years ago I had the sublime pleasure of enjoying a Mushroom
Stroganoff Pizza-not in Russia ironically but whilst visiting Swansea in Wales
of all places...
Not your usual pizza I admit. The base was thin and crispy
with a tangy tomato sauce overlaid with a scrumptious, creamy, mushroom
stroganoff topping. The result was truly delicious....
Since then I have tried and tried to reproduce that fabulous
pizza. I offer this version but it is still not quite right...my search will
therefore continue...
For the pizza base-and my thanks to my good friend Wobbly
Mouse for the original recipe for the base which I have adapted slightly...
Pizza base
275g Flour (I used on
this occasion a mixture of Welsh Oak Smoked flour and Spelt flour-both from the
Bacheldre Welsh Flour mill)
1/2 sachet easy blend
yeast
1 tsp British Extra Virgin
British Rapeseed oil
200 ml hand hot water
For the topping
450g Mushrooms-torn
into chunks
2 Onions-sliced
3 fat garlic
cloves-finely crushed
1 TBSP finely chopped fresh Thyme
2 tsp Sweet Spanish Paprika
110g Crème Fraiche-I used Rodda’s Cornish Crème
Fraiche
A small glass of Vodka
A small glass of white
wine
140g Tomato puree
1 ball of Fresh Buffalo
Mozzarella cheese-sliced
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black
pepper
A little butter
Little British Extra
Virgin British Rapeseed Oil
Sieve the flour into a
large bowl, stir in a tsp of salt and the easy blend yeast.
Make a well in the
middle, stir in the oil and water with a round bladed knife
Mix to form a soft,
slightly sticky dough
Turn out onto a floured
surface and knead for about 15 minutes until a smooth, elastic dough is formed.
This will make one
large pizza or two 25 smaller thin pizzas.
To form the base,
stretch the dough out as thin as possible on a parchment lined tray. Leave to rise in a warm place for 30/40
minutes.
Whilst the dough is
rising, make the filling.
Thickly slice the onion
and mushrooms and very gently fry in a little butter and rapeseed oil. Add the
chopped garlic and finely chopped fresh thyme. Add the small glasses of vodka
and white wine and burn off the alcohol for a couple of minutes.
Add the tsp of paprika
and the Crème Fraiche, season with salt and pepper and very gently simmer until
all is unctuous, creamily thick, and bubbly...You want the resulting mixture to
be quite thick so it does not make the pizza base soggy when added. Once it has
cooked, turn off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
Heat the oven to 210C.
Once the base has risen
cover it with the tomato puree. Make sure you spread the tomato right to the
edges of the pizza. Add the cooled mushroom topping and spread evenly across
the whole pizza. Top with thin slices of the mozzarella cheese.
Place in the top of the
hot oven for 25 minutes until all is hot, bubbling and slightly golden-usually
about 15 minutes or so.
That’s all for this
post. I would be happy to post some more on my trip to Russia and the Ukraine
and some more Russian inspired recipes if anyone is interested...
Apologies also to those
that were expecting a post on wild food and wild garlic. It will be coming, but
unfortunately I had a fall this week and severely injured my knee and,
consequently, my mobility is somewhat impaired.
Plus it is pouring with rain
this weekend-not my favourite weather to go walking in the woods-and
considering last year I ended up scrabbling up steep banks of slippery clay
slopes and even at one point having to climb a tree and edge out along a branch
to return to my garden, I feel somewhat constrained this weekend to stay close
to the house!!
Until next time, enjoy
your evenings...wherever you may be...
 |
A Moscow evening... |
