The warm May sun is shining generously. Many are already eyeing their suitcases: vacation time is just around the corner. Some are preparing to welcome holidaymakers at their vacation homes, while others with their own dachas moved there as early as March or April to work in their gardens and plots. Of course, this means more work in the kitchen for the hosts: breakfast, lunch, and dinner all need to be prepared. The situation is further complicated by the fact that fresh vegetables and fruits are scarce in spring and early summer. Therefore, it’s essential to use more parsley, dill, green onions, and garlic.
A savvy host will certainly keep a stock of canned meats, fish, and vegetables, as well as soup concentrates, cereals, and jellies. All of these will come in handy at the dacha. One tip: taste canned goods before using them and adjust with fat, salt, onions, or spices as needed. Don’t throw away the liquid from vegetable cans; use it for soups like potato, pea, bean, or mushroom soup.
If you’re staying near a lake or river and someone goes fishing from the shore, you’ll often have fresh fish on hand. If you do need to buy fish from local fishermen, look for fish that sink in water, have shiny scales that cling tightly, bright red gills, bulging eyes, and firm flesh.
In May, you may still have to eat old potatoes. To improve their flavor, soak them in cold water for a few hours.
GREEN SOUP
Sorrel, spinach, green onions, and other greens should be kept in cold water for 10-15 minutes, then thoroughly rinsed. Chopped green onions and dill are added to the finished dish. Other greens are tossed into boiling broth; this will help soften the potatoes cooking in it. Just before finishing, pour in a liaison—a mixture of milk and egg yolk. When serving, add a boiled, finely chopped egg to each bowl.
SORREL SOUP “COUNTRY STYLE”
This soup is particularly delicious if cooked in a cast-iron pot in the oven. Whole peeled potatoes are boiled, then cooled. Strain the broth. Chop the sorrel, onion, and celery root, add a bit of the broth, and sauté with margarine or butter for 5-7 minutes. Then add the diced potatoes, pour in the remaining broth, and boil for another 3-5 minutes. Stir in sour cream, green onions, and dill before serving.
For 850g of water: 3 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon of butter, sorrel, celery root, green onions, dill, sour cream.
NETTLE SOUP
Chopped nettles are briefly immersed in boiling water, then drained, rinsed with cold water, and sautéed in fat for 10-15 minutes. Dice parsley root, carrots, and onions and sauté them, then add them to the boiling broth along with the prepared nettles. After 20 minutes, add salt and spices. Serve with chopped boiled egg, a piece of meat, sour cream, and herbs in each bowl.
For 700g of broth: 300g of nettles, 1 carrot, 1 parsley root, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped herbs, 1 egg.
FISH SOUP
Fresh fish is delicious in any form—fried, boiled, or stuffed. From larger fish like catfish or pike, you can make fillets. Large fillet pieces should be pounded, while smaller pieces can be ground with soaked white bread and onion. To prepare the filling, beat an egg into the ground mixture and season with salt and pepper. Spread the filling on the fillet pieces, roll them into sausage shapes, dip in egg, coat in flour, fry in butter, then simmer in tomato sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes.
OKROSHKA
If you have kvass or kefir, you can serve a cold okroshka for lunch. For 800g of kvass or kefir diluted with boiled water, you’ll need a piece of boiled meat, 2-3 boiled potatoes, 2-3 hard-boiled eggs, green onions, 2 fresh cucumbers, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Cut the vegetables into cubes. Instead of meat, you can use lean ham, boiled tongue, or skip it altogether for a vegetable okroshka.
SIMPLE PORRIDGE
Porridge is often made for breakfast. There are also a few tricks to its preparation. Porridge made from any grain will be very tasty if you pour 1.5 cups of boiling water over 1 cup of grain, add 50 g of butter, an egg, and a bit of salt. Mix everything, cover the pot, and place it in the oven.
