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Breton cotriade is basically the same as Russian ukha: mostly white sea fish stewed with potatoes and onions. In Russia most of time it is made of fresh water fish, while in Brittany, naturally, of the catch from the brine.
The only condiments being sea salt and coarsely ground pepper, this dish brings out the best of the flavour in fish. It is very simple yet exquisitely delicious.
The recipe couldn't be simpler: peel and cut potatoes, let them dry a bit (this way they will less likley crumble). Peel and chop an onion. Put the potatoes and onions in cold water, bring to boil, then add fish. Add salt and pepper to taste. This comes out even better when you use the heads of big fish.
Russian food is much influenced by the cuisines of Russia's own Near East of Caucasus, Central Asia and the Muslim nations of the Volga basin.
Stuffed bell peppers are one of such Oriental goodies that quite commonly appear on the Russians' table. It is a festive dish and takes some time to prepare but the result is totally worth the fuss.
Equal quarters of mince, cooked rice, chopped onions and a pre-stirfried and pre-seasoned vegetable mix go into the stuffing. I gentrify the original recipe with a few sophisticated touches:
- I use tartare mince which is low-fat;
- rice is cooked with quarter less water than necessary, thus it helps trap the juices inside the peppers;
- I add shiitake and Iranian spices in the veggie mix;
- I steam the peppers in a glass of white wine added at the bottom of the pot.
I have found that Chilean white wine from the Pedro Jiménez variety of grapes, it goes perfect with my stuffed peppers. It is dry with just one tone of passion fruit that rings like an A sharp. It is slightly gassy and tastes the best when left in the glass to warm up and oxidise a bit.
Pozy or manty is another dish Russians borrowed from their steppe neighbours. It is enjoyed along a vast swathe of land from Mongolia to Russian Finn-Ugric Northwest. As is the case with most dishes from the area, the ingredients are simple and the outcome is well worth the labour-intensive and time-consuming preparation.
Unleavened dough is kneaded continuously for 30-40 minutes into perfect homogeneity which is essential for the right result. Mince or, even better, finely shredded meat is mixed with an equal amount of chopped onions. Originally, fatty chunks of meat were used, very much prized during the harsh winters of the inhospitable Eurasian interior. Modern urbanite life calls for healthier options: I suitably use Tartare mince. The only condiments really needed are salt and pepper, I use best quality: hand-raked Guerdaine sea salt and powerfully fragrant Vietnamese peppercorns.
The dough is rolled out into thin rounds, then the mince is wrapped inside with a tiny hole left at the very top. You can buy multi-level manty steamers in Russia but I don't have one. I use a bamboo sieve lined with a banana leave instead, that's my Asian background for you. About 20 minutes of steaming on a very high fire brings juice from the onions and the beef to produce copious amounts of bouillon divine in its simplicity.
Traditionally pozy are served with a mixture of melted butter and vinegar (tastes way better than it sounds) but I make a dip of sour cream and horseradish - also very Russian.
Norton Malbéc I smuggled from Argentina - very similar to French Cahors, the eucharistal wine of the Russian Orthodox Church - was a bit too characterful for the meal so we had to barely sip it.
Breton cotriade is basically the same as Russian ukha: mostly white sea fish stewed with potatoes and onions. In Russia most of time it is made of fresh water fish, while in Brittany, naturally, of the catch from the brine.
