What is even better than finding and cooking up something positively new and delicious? Having a group of great gal friends to do it with. Since I've moved to Australia, I've been lucky to meet a lot of folks from all over the world. Several of us have gotten together to share recipes we love, that are more ethnic or regional to where we are from. Before the holidays, we had the great fortune of having Victoria show us how she creates several delicious treats, and she is from a Russian/Ukrainian background but has lived in Australia for many years.
These recipes are recalled from notes I've taken, while in the midst of helping prepare ingredients. Hopefully I haven't messed anything up! We started with an appetizer that Victoria calls "Fish Toast", move on to "Green Soup" and finished off with "Stroganoff"! Normally they wouldn't all necessarily be served together in one meal setting, but because we wanted to learn how to make several things in one time setting, this is what Victoria shared with us.
FISH TOAST
Victoria said whenever she makes this, everyone loves it and asks how she did it or wants to get the recipe so they can make it too. It makes a terrific tapa or finger food, and is fairly healthy for you. The best part is how incredibly easy it is to make!
French stick bread, sliced into diagonal slices
3 cloves of garlic
4-5 tablespoons of light mayo
2 flat cans of smoked sardines drained (Smoked is important, it will taste SO much better with smoked!)
1-1/5 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
Lay the French stick bread slices out on two cookie sheets. Mash 3 cloves of garlic with a pestle and mortor. Stir 4-5 tablespoons of light mayo into the garlic, mixing really well. Spread a bit of the mayo on each bread, so each is lightly covered on one side. Drain the sardines and split each one in half and lay on top of a bread slice. Sprinkle a generous amount of Parmesan cheese over each slice of bread. Put this in the oven, at about 200 degrees/Aussie ovens, and about 350-400 in US ovens. Bake about 10-15 minutes, watching closely so as not to burn it. It's ready when cheese melts and is golden. Serve immediately! I'd say it made about 30-35 individual servings.
GREEN SOUP
I've actually made the Green Soup several times and had it cold and hot and it just gets better every time I make it. It is a great hot weather soup, and great if you are having some digestive woes!
about 12 cups of water or 3-4 liters (exact amount not urgent, you can add more or less)
2-4 potatoes, cut into little 1/2 inch cubes, (I use the low GI version from Coles now, they hold their shape really well and are low GI)
large onion, diced into small pieces, maybe 1/2 inch or under
3-4 cups of finely chopped swiss chard leaves, (she said French sorrel is how it is normally made, and you could probably substitute spinach or kale)
2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons of salt (I start with 1 Tablespoon and add more at the end if it needs it)
3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
black pepper to taste
6 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
large cucumber, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
green onions, sliced thin, probably 5 or 6
Boil the water, adding the potatoes and onions. Cook until the potatoes and onions are getting tender. Add salt. Toss in the Swiss chard and cook a few more minutes until they are all cooked and add the lemon juice. Adjust salt and pepper if desired. (I found myself using a couple vegetable soup bouillon cubes along with a teaspoon of celtic salt and that seemed to work out fine.)
To serve, you can eat it warm, but Victoria prefers to serve it as a cold, refreshing summer soup. Cool soup by putting it in the fridge or in a pot, in a sink full of ice, and cooling it. Put a spoonful of hard boiled egg, cucumber and green onion in a bowl and ladel the cold soup over this, being sure to get some potatoes and chard in the bowl. MMMmmm! I really like this soup, hot and cold!
STROGANOFF
2-2.5 lbs of corned beef
5 onions
3 to 4 cups cubed mushrooms
4 (200 ml) containers of light sour cream, NOT yogurt
2 packets of dried cream of mushroom soup mix, (don't get the one with croutons)
potatoes for cooking and mashing, enough for half a dozen people, depends on the size of the potatoes
First slice the corned beef into 1/2 inch steaks, from the larger roasts them come in. Take those steaks and slice them into strips that are about 1/2 in thick or a little less. Cut those longer strips into pieces about 2 inches long. Chop mushrooms into 1/2 inch cubes as well as the onions. Stir fry the mushrooms until they are cooked and set aside. Saute the onions in a little water until they are tender and cooked, and set aside. Saute the meat, stirring until it is all cooked through. Don't cook it to the point of burning or making it dry. Hopefully you have a huge fry pan, pot or bowl that you can put all the meat, mushrooms, onions, sour cream and dried mushroom soup packets into and stir really well. Layer it all into a large or two smaller casserole dishes. This makes a LOT so you would be well advised to freeze half of this at this point so you can bring it out another time for a fast meal.
Put the casserole in the oven, (about a 2.5 qt or 3-4 liter size if you use all the mix). Bake it at about 140 degrees (Aussie temp) for about an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare a huge batch of potatoes, peeling if you want but not necessary if using thin skinned type. Cut up potatoes and boil until tender. Drain water and mash well with some butter and salt and pepper.
Put a large spoonful of potatoes on your plate and layer over it a nice size serving of the Stroganoff. This will be a salty and hearty meal! Very nice to reheat for several days for lunches! I crave this now, after typing it, and remembering how we all literally gobbled it up! It is one of those filling dishes that is so tasty, you can't stop even when you are full.
