Russia Dishes

Russia Dishes

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Last updated:
30.07.2019

Russia is a multinational and diverse country, making for a great impact on the national cuisine. Of course, Russian food may seem weird and foreign at first sight but we bet that from the rich variety of dishes you'll still be able to find something to your taste. 

Traditional Russian Food

During your trip, make sure to try borsht and blini pancakes - Russia's national dishes, but now let's have a closer look at some of the most distinctive Russian dishes.

Siberian Specialty - Famous "Pelmeni"

When thinking about any country's national cuisine, usually you can come up with a couple of dishes typical for this or that region of the world. Russia is not an exception. If you ask anybody to name some distinctive specialties of Russian cuisine, it is for sure that "pelmeni" or dumplings will hold one of the leading positions by popularity.

Homemade "pelmeni" is one of the favorite dishes for Russian families for many generations, so molding dumplings has been a great occasion to gather numerous relatives and cook it together. If you want to find out more about this outstanding yet pretty simple dish, read our detailed post and watch a video about delicious Russian dumplings.

 

Favourite Russian Pies - "Pirogi"

Nobody would argue with the fact that Russian "pirogi" has almost the same importance in the national cuisine of Russia as pizza is in Italy. As a rule, Russian pies are baked mainly from unsweetened dough and can go with absolutely various fillings from meat and fish to fruit and cottage cheese. Different regions of immense Russia have their own traditions of cooking pies so it would be inexcusable not to try at least some of them. To clear up what Russian pies to select, we've prepared a post on the main types of these tasty pastries.

Russia's Most Popular Porridge

Porridge or "kasha" is something without which the national cuisine can’t do. Russians, especially in their childhood, often eat porridge for breakfast as it is really nutritious.

Russian breakfast - porridge

Semolina, pearl barley, oatmeal, and buckwheat are quite frequent in the diet of Russians, so you are most likely be offered some porridge for breakfast at a hotel or cafe. It is served hot, generously flavored with butter. As they say in Russia, "you can not spoil the porridge with butter", which means that something healthy won’t be harmful even in big amounts.

Popular Russian poridges:

  • Semolina porridge (Guryev porridge)
  • Millet pumpkin porridge
  • Pearl barley porridge (Tsar's porridge)
  • Buckwheat porridge (Grechka porridge)
  • Oat porridge (Hercules porridge)
  • Spelt porridge

Traditional Russian Salad

Generally, Russians love to cook salads, especially for family events, and make them in lots of different variations. However, there's one salad that is considered to be an authentic one. Just like Americans can’t imagine their Thanksgiving without a traditional turkey, no New Year's table in Russian is not complete without "Olivier," known abroad as the "Russian salad." The salad was named after its founder, the chef Lucien Olivier, who worked in Moscow in the 19th century. Tasty "Olivier" gained its popularity in the Soviet years due to the simplicity of cooking and ingredients' availability. The classic Soviet "Olivier" includes boiled potatoes and carrots, sausages, hard-boiled eggs, pickled cucumbers, green peas, dill, and mayonnaise.

All in all, Russian cooking traditions are quite peculiar and attract travelers' interest from all over the world. To enrich your knowledge of traditional Russian dishes, look through our Russian food guide to decide on what to try during your Russian tour. 

Russians love their national dishes, and we are sure that you will too once you get your hands on some pirogi or have a spoonful of pelmeni! It's fascinating to taste the local delicacies as you travel the world. If you need any assistance planning your trip, look no further, and we will make sure you have a flavorful experience in Russia.