A SPRING LUNCH.........
Stuffed Celery.........
Stuff wide stalks of celery with cream cheese and sprinkle with sweet paprika . Top with a thin layer of red caviar . Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper
Stuffed Cucumbers
Peel and halve 2 cucumbers ( remove seeds ) . Combine 2 peeled and chopped hard boiled eggs , 8 radishes finely chopped , 1 tbs of chopped parsley , 1 tbs chopped dill ,and 2/3 rds of sour cream ...fill cucumber halves .
Cold Vegetable Okroshka
Sprinkle 3 spring onions lightly with salt and combine 2 hard boiled egg yolks with 1/2 tsp of wholegrain mustard , 1 tsp of sugar and 3 tbs of sour cream.
Chop the 3 egg whites and mix with 2 medium potatoes sized potatoes and 1 large carrot that have been boiled and diced , 6 radishes diced , a large cucumber peeled and minced .
Mix the spring onion mix and the potato mi together with 3 cups of red wine and chill for 4 hours until very cold ....
15 minutes before serving add 2 cups of chilled soda water .
Sprinkle each serving with fresh chopped dill and parsley.
Salat Olivier ( this is my favourite )
Combine 2 cups of cooked chicken thighs ( my preference for the thigh ) , 3 hard boiled eggs , 2 diced dill pickles ,1 cup of cooked peas , 1/2 cup of bacon pieces ....take care not to mash the potatoes ..go gently with the mixing.
Now add 2 tbs of mayonnaise
2 tbs sour cream
1 dsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of wholegrain mustard
Now add another 2 eggs.... but the yolks only..... cooked and mashed .
Toss lightly before serving..
String Bean Omelette
In a drizzle of oil
Saute 1 large onion cut into rings until transparent .
Beat 4 eggs
Add onion rings and 500 gm of beans,
Cook in pan until set , turning the omelette once .
Garnish with slices of tomato
Raspberry Dessert
Mix 2 cups of cottage cheese with 4 tbs of icing sugar , then rub through flat sieve .mix in 2 tbs of milk and 1 cup of roughly chopped raspberries .
spoon in between 4 serving bowls and chill for 1 hour .
Dress with 3 raspberries per bowl.
Lemon cookies....
Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
Cream 250 gm of butter with a 1/3 of a cup of sugar .
Add the beaten egg with 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract .1 cup of flour with a pinch of salt .
Add the grated rind of 1 lemon.
Now that you have a dough place 1 tsp sized balls onto a lined tray .
Press coarsely chopped walnuts into the cookies .
Bake for 12 minutes
Transfer to a cooling rack .
This is a great spring lunch and so appropriate served in the garden overlooking the water with spring blossoms in full bloom.
Recipes courtesy.... The Russian Heritage Cookbook...Lynn Visson
Enjoy.
