Belarus: Potatoes gonna potate
Hello and welcome back, friends of Kryddhyllan! After a short bout of winter hibernation, we’re welcoming the summer completely refreshed with new energy and, best of all, (hopefully long-awaited) exciting recipes for you to try out this summer. This one in particular works especially well for those rainy summer days that, more often that not, comprise a traditional Swedish summer. You know, the ones that usually involve staring balefully out the window at the downpour, while putting away your beach gear and mentally preparing yourself to set up shop on the sofa for the day. Now, while the unpredictable Swedish weather might not bode well for those looking to ever get any semblance of a tan, it does provide the perfect opportunity to huddle up close with your nearest and dearest, put on some good music, and get the party started in the kitchen!
But enough with the suspense already, right?! This week’s guest hails from the beautiful country of Belarus, a low key nation that’s bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland (just to name a few). And while this country is a bit less on the radar than its high-profile neighbors, it’s actually the birthplace of two Israeli presidents, a whopping 5 Nobel Laureates! If that wasn’t cool enough, it’s also home to the largest and oldest forest, the Bialowieza Forest, where you’ll even find the largest animal in Europe – the European Bison.
We were greeted by our lovely guest, Marina, at her beautiful Farsta Strand flat, which she shared with another couple and their adorable Weimaraner. Thanks to a great opportunity to study in Scandinavia, she packed her bags and booked a one-way flight from Minsk to the Swedish capital. She explained to us that when she’s not learning how to perfect her Asian cooking skills, she’s busy feeding her friends and beating homesickness by preparing some of her favorite dishes from home. So what is Belarusian cuisines exactly? Inspired by its neighboring countries, Marina explained that it shares many similarities with other Eastern, Central and even Northeastern European countries. This means hearty dishes featuring meat, regional vegetables, and of course potatoes in abundance. So if you needed a reason to eat more fresh Swedish potatoes, Belarusian cuisine offers over 300 dishes made from the starchy delight. This hearty dish works perfectly for chilly temperatures, as it’s heartiness will warm your soul and fill your tummy – perfect for watching the rain pour down as you wonder why you didn’t book a sunny getaway sooner… Without further ado, check out how to enjoy a traditional Belarusian feast!
Draniki with machenka (potato pancakes with sauce)
Enjoy with: some ice cold vodka, what else did you expect? For the more faint of heart a cup of black tea is ok (for now, but go and work on that vodka tolerance, you weakling!)
Listen to: Port Mone (lovely band from Minsk that mixes a bunch of music styles, so you never get tired of listening to them!
Time: Takes about 45 min - 1 hours. Serves 4
Ingredients
Potato pancakes:
9 potatoes, peeled and rinsed
2 eggs
2-3 tsp salt
About 2 dl of flour
Sunflower oil
Mushroom and bacon sauce:
One box of mushrooms
250 g of thin bacon
2 yellow onions
4 tbsp of creme fraiche
Black pepper
3 bay leaves
A few pinches of nutmeg
4 dl of vegetable broth
3-4 tbsp flour
For serving:
Fresh dill (for serving)
Creme fraiche
Instructions
Pancakes:
Grate all the potatoes (on the largest size of the grater) and transfer to a bowl. Try to squeeze out as much juice as possible from the potatoes so that they don’t become watery
Add in 2 eggs and salt and stir together
A little bit at the time, add in the flour and mix together. The mixture is supposed to get quite creamy and solid, almost like a porridge
In a large frying pan, pour some sunflower oil and turn heat to high
Using a spoon, take some of the potato mixture and put it into the frying pan. Try to make the shape as round as possible, and about 0,5 cm thick.
Cook all the pancakes on each side until golden brown. We cooked about 5 at the same time.
Set the pancakes aside with some paper towels to absorb excessive fat - now it’s time to start with the sauce
Sauce:
Rinse mushrooms, slice in half and then thinly slice
Dice the onions
Slice bacon into slices about 1 cm thick
Lower the heat to medium and pour some more sunflower oil into the pan.
Add the onions and fry until browned. Add in the mushrooms and keep stirring until mushrooms shrink and become more dry (more or less no liquid left)
Add in bacon and fry for a few minutes, after add in the nutmeg and stir while frying for another few minutes
Pour in the broth to cover the contents of the pan and turn heat to medium-high. Let simmer for a few minutes
In a separate glass, pour about 1 dl of broth (or water) and mix in about 3-4 tbsp of flour until it becomes a beige liquid (stirring to remove any lumps). Add slowly into the pan while stirring so that the sauce becomes creamier
Add in about 1tbsp of creme fraiche and stir
You are ready for serving! Put a few pancakes on a plate, pour sauce over and sprinkle with dill, enjoy!
Interview Time!
Kryddhyllan: So, the first question is…What’s your favorite food from home and why?
Marina: Hmmm, I like a lot of things actually. I would say that this one that we cooked tonight is one of the favorite ones. I also like this Ukrainian soup called borscht.
Kryddhyllan: Mmmm, so good!
Marina: I cooked it with my friends, and I was actually thinking about making it tonight but realized that it would take four hours or something.
Kryddhyllan: Are there different types of borscht depending on what country you’re in?
Marina: Hmmm, I think so: I’d say that it totally depends on what region you’re from or even how your grandma used to make it. There are dozens of variations I’d say, you can put this kind of meat, that kind of meat. Depends on each family I guess.
Kryddhyllan: Why would you say it’s your favorite?
Marina: I really like potatoes. So I like draniki very much, just because it’s these basic ingredients but a nice combination, it’s crunchy, it’s simple but the result is amazing. Why I like borscht? I’d say it’s something from your childhood, because you always have these kinds of things that your grandma used to cook. Yeah, I’d say it just reminds me of that.
Kryddhyllan: Nice! And it’s delicious. So what brought you to Sweden?
Marina: I moved here for my studies, for my Master’s at KTH.
Kryddhyllan: Did you apply to a lot of places, or did you have your heart set on KTH?
Marina: I applied to three places, I got a scholarship from the Swedish Institute, which is mainly why I ended up in Sweden, because Sweden provides very nice opportunities for people who want to learn something new. I applied to Lund, Chalmers and then KTH. Then I got a place at this particular program at KTH, and got funding and here I am. I was thinking about how it would be if I’d moved to one of the other places, and it would’ve been totally different from my experience here in Stockholm. I’ve been here for a year and a half and it’s been very intense with lots of changes, and it would feel entirely different being somewhere else with different people and opportunities.
Kryddhyllan: Definitely. Since moving here, what are some of your favorite dishes?
Marina: Surprisingly, I learned more about Asian food since moving here. I’d say that Swedish food is quite similar to my home country, it’s probably not that exotic or exciting to me. It’s delicious, I like it, but it’s something super familiar for me. Asian cuisine is not that popular yet in Belarus, we’re getting there, getting new restaurants and all that, but it’s still quite hard to find good Asian – even something as simple as coconut milk. Here you can buy it in any corner store or supermarket. I was sharing the kitchen with some Asian people when I was living in student housing, and so I learned a lot with them. Whenever I try new things I always try to figure out how you cook it, how to decsontruct it and figure out the ingredients. Here’s you have all the ingredients, so it’s perfect.
Kryddhyllan: What kind of asian food?
Marina: Hmmm Thai, different kinds of noodle soups, these kinds of things. We also did hot pot with my Chinese classmate.
Kryddhyllan: Ahhh, hot pot is the best. It must take a long time to make?
Marina: Yeah, I think so but it’s kind of like a ritual. You’re not supposed to be in a rush. You’re just sitting in a circle, and it’s just super nice. You’re with a great group of people, putting this and that into this big boiling pot, and it’s just nice to do something together. Oh, and dumplings also. I’d say I’ve learned a lot about new foreign and unfamiliar cuisines since being here.
Kryddhyllan: Nice! Did you know anything about Swedish cuisine before coming here?
Marina: A bit…. Of course everybody knows meatballs. I think IKEA promotes them pretty well *laughs. So that’s what I mostly knew.
Kryddhyllan: That or salmon.
Marina: Meatballs are a contribution of IKEA to the promotion of Swedish culture! I was reading a few things about Sweden, mostly tourist information, that talked about cinnamon buns and princess cake. So I wanted to try them when I arrived. These are nice, but quite regular for me. Because they’re made out of quite traditional ingredients that we also use in Belarus. So it wasn’t anything super revolutionary for me. But I do like semlas. Especially when it’s cold outside – they invented it for a reason. I think this year, I had 3.
Kryddhyllan: Mmm, nicely done! What would you say is the best and worst thing about Swedish food?
Marina: Hmm, I think that worst thing is that it’s quite simple. This can also be a good thing, that you’re using local ingredients and not putting too much time into cooking, you’re eating just very simply. Sometimes this can get boring, having such a limited amount of ingredients. So a bit of both.
Kryddhyllan: Yeah, you’re not the first person to say that. Another guest said it was very generic. And also said that we put lingonberries on everything(???). But anyhow, if you had to pick one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Marina: Hmm, I’d say pasta. It’s just…. It’s simple, but it’s also not. There are so many variations, it can be super basic, as well as super sophisticated. Generally, I also like a combination of pizza or dumplings or pie when you have meat, something with a filling. It’s simple but there’s an infinite amount of options in terms of shapes, ingredients, and more.
Kryddhyllan: We’re into that… and also in line with the last question – what is your spice, or mineral, or herb etc. of life?
Marina: I’d say black pepper. It’s the first thing I buy when I move to a new place, and I have an empty fridge and cupboards. It’s the very first purchase.
Kryddhyllan: In Cambodia, you can visit this pepper farm. There’s a place called Kampot, and it’s one of the few certified pepper regions. You know how it is with champagne? This is like that. There’s this place, and then there’s another in Senegal maybe, or somewhere in West Africa. After trying that pepper, you can never go back. It’s like you’ve been eating mac and cheese your whole life and then you try fresh pasta, and you think: I’ve been doing it wrong…
Marina: Oh wow…. This sounds amazing.
Kryddhyllan: It is!!! And on that note, what’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
Marina: Oh boy…. So many exciting memories flashing before me!! Uhm…. I think it’s, it’s always an experience. I’m just thinking about good memories related to nice people and places I’ve experienced. It’s not always about the food. I remember one really good meal in Porto, Portugal. I had a study assignment, a tight deadline. So I spent the morning finishing this assignment, which was torture because my friends went out and I was just sitting in our assignment being miserable and finishing my stuff. So I felt so free and relieved when I finished, and met my friends to eat. Nobody spoke English at the restaurant, and I knew a bit of Spanish…. But essentially none of us really knew what we ordered. It was one of the best meals in my life.
Kryddhyllan: What was it?
Marina: These were very simple things. Fried spinach, it was a kind of fried, crunchy. I’d never tasted spinach like this before. Also there was some fried meat, or BBQ meat, with local wine. It was pretty amazing. So now I practice this habit of ordering something that I’m not really sure of, especially in places where people don’t speak English. It’s usually always very good. Especially in places like Spain. You can’t get bad food there. Just go for it!
Kryddhyllan: We should try that! And last question – what is your favorite restaurant at the moment?
Marina: Hmm. I really like this place in Stockholm called Midan. It’s near Odenplan, and it’s amazing. There are all these mixed plates, and one plate is enough for two. You could even share with a guy and be full! They usually have these mixed plates with kebabs, rolls, fries, hummus, babba ghanoush. So many different things. It’s amazing. It’s also quite cheap. There are also a lot of middle eastern people there, so you know it’s legit.
Kryddhyllan: Thank you so much! And for this epic meal!
