Traditional Russian Sour Cream (Super Easy and Cheap Recipe)

This is possibly the shortest and certainly one of the easiest recipes out there. This is due to it being very traditional and based on wild fermentation, meaning your involvement in the process is almost zero and all the work is done by the amazing creatures that are everywhere in the air - wonderful bacteria.

I now there are recipes that call for culture to be added to get the souring process started, but I tend to keep my cooking simple, cheap and follow the tradition where possible. The method I describe below is based on Russian tradition that was and still is used in villages to make sour cream.

Ingredients:

organic raw grass-fed cream, the thicker the better
The amount really depends on your needs and here in London on your finances.

Equipment:

glass jar if your cream comes in plastic container

Leave the glass jar with the cream on the kitchen counter for 1 - 3 days covered with the lid but not tight, just place the lid on the jar and do not screw it closed. The amount of days solely depends on the temperature in your kitchen. During summer it will be 1-2 days, during winter around 3. Really what should be your guide is your taste buds. The taste of the finished product should be sour but not overpoweringly so, and just a tad sweet.

That is it, there you have your sour cream.
If you ask me where to use this wonderful product, well I would say almost anywhere: in borstch (traditional Russian and Ukrainian soup), on sautéed cabbage with mince (lazy Russian Golubtsy or Cabbage Rolls), in all the cream soups, in vegetable soups, on Russian Golubtsy (Cabbage Rolls), with Russian Pelmeni, on sautéed vegetables, on stuffed sweet peppers, on freshly boiled new potatoes with dill, mixed up with cream cheese and some honey or other sweetener of your choice (as a dessert), it can be just eaten on its own out of the jar, or with some honey if you like it sweet.

Yes, you are right again, I am Russian and I tend to use sour cream with almost everything :). Love the stuff!

Hey, happy cream souring to you and please do get back here and share your experience or just comment your thoughts.

Guacamole with apples

I just love avocados. I can sit down and eat an avocado or 2 in one go.
However, I like to prolong that pleasure, enter guacamole. I tried different moles and can honestly say that this one is my all times favorite. I saw it in a Mexican cookery book and amended it slightly to my taste, so here goes..

Ingredients (all organic):

2 large avocados
1 medium white onion
2-3 small green onions (scallions)
1-2 green chili peppers
1 large sweet crunchy apple
handful of coriander leafs
1/2 lemon or 1 whole lime
unrefined sea salt and black pepper to taste

Peel and roughly cut avocados, place them in a bowl and slightly mince them with a fork. Very finely cut the onions, roughly chop coriander, add into the mixture. Cut deseeded chili peppers and add them too. Peel the apple and cut it in small chunks, toss them in. Now add the lemon / lime juice and season with black pepper and salt, mix everything well. Try it and adjust seasoning if needed. You will have a pretty smooth mixture with pieces of apples in it. This is it, very quick and simple.

I usually eat mine with homemade sourdough crackers or on a piece of homemade sourdough bread. The contrast of chilly with smooth avocado and crunchy sweetness of an apple is heavenly. Go ahead and enjoy it!!!

Chicken Liver Patȇ

I started preparing this for my son when he was eating everything blended. I found it so tasty for myself especially on a sourdough rye bread with some green tea in the morning, that started regularly preparing it.


You will need:

200g grass fed chicken liver

1 medium organic carrot

1 organic bay leaf

unrefined sea salt

1 knob of grass fed butter

filtered water

Soak liver in cold water for about 10 minutes. 

Take the liver out of the water and put it in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil.

In the meantime take the carrot, peel it and grate it.

Change the water in the liver, add 1 bay leaf, some salt (can always be adjusted at the end) and the grated carrot.

Cover and put on the small fire, let it boil for about 6 minutes until the carrot is soft.

Remove most of the water (but leave aside for later), throw the bay leaf out.

Add a good knob of butter, let it melt a bit. In my experience butter can never be too much.

Blend the liver with carrot and butter with a hand blender.

If needed add some water and adjust the salt.

Cool it down, spread on the bread and eat.


If you have a small child, to heat it up place in a hot water.