Russian around: Kick back with winning World Cup couch snacks
THE Socceroos’ World Cup campaign kicks off this weekend in Russia. Of course, watching the football from the comfort of the couch calls for one thing — vodka. But you’ll need some snacks as well.
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THE Socceroos’ World Cup campaign kicks off on Saturday when Australia faces France at Kazan Arena, about 900kms from Moscow.
Barring a Steven Bradbury-style miracle we’re not going to take home the Cup — we’re ranked 40th in the world and you’ll get around 300 to 1 odds if you have nothing better to do with a tenner — but we’ll be hoping to match our best finish when made the round of 16 in 2006.
Of course, watching the football in Russia from the comfort of the couch calls for one thing — vodka.
And just like they do in Russia, drinking equals eating.
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Food educator and presenter Alice Zaslavsky, whose family’s Russian-Georgian heritage meant she grew up on the famous beetroot soup called borsch, says snacking is essential when thinking — and drinking — Russian.
“One thing the Russians do before they drink vodka is to take a shot of oil, to coat their stomachs,” she says.
“Then the next thing would be to eat some pickled mushrooms, which also help.”
Eastern European delis stock an extensive range of pickles — head to Glen Huntly Rd in Elsternwick/Caulfield, or Dandenong — and have freezers filled with bags of pelmeni, or Russian dumplings, to cook at home.
“One of my favourites is, vareniki, which are filled with mashed potato and caramelised onion,” says Alice, whose new online series phenomenom.com.au introduces kids to the pleasures of eating veg.
She suggests adding the boiled dumplings to a pan of caramelised onions to double down on dumpling deliciousness.
Other easy-to-make snacks perfect for late night Cup munchies include the Georgian pie known as khachapuri.
Take a tablespoon of a four-cheese mix of cheddar, mozzarella, haloumi and ricotta bound with egg and add to a square of puff pastry. Fold into a triangle, seal with egg wash and bake in the oven until golden.
Alice also suggests picking up some pirozhki from the deli, which are Russian meat doughnuts.
“I reckon if you got a load of these your friends would love you.”
And finally, no Russian feast would be complete without at least a sip of borsch, so why not toast a goal with a borsch shooter?
Add a splash of vodka to cold-pressed beetroot juice and down it in one.
FRANCE V AUSTRALIA
Sat, June 16. Kick off 8pm
The first game of Group C has the Aussies facing the French, who won the cup in 1998 but are looking strong contenders to repeat the feat this year.
Roaming personal chef Frenchman Romuald Oudeyer (romu.com.au) says simple snacks are the name of the game when adding some Gallic flair to football fare.
“A classic saucisson tranche et fresh baguette is always good,” he says, and doesn’t a roll with salami sound so much better when it’s said in French.
“You can get saucission from Casa Iberica (Fitzroy, Alphington) or Gary’s Meats (Prahran market.”
Another snack that sounds tres bien in French is baguette aperitif — a warm baguette stuffed with cheese and ham and toasted — while a classic cheeseboard filled with oozy brie and stinky blue is an easy win. Serve alongside fresh veg cut into batons — think radish, celery, carrots — to dip into a vinegar-spiked yoghurt and you have a simple yet satisfying World Cup supper.
DENMARK V AUSTRALIA
Thurs, June 21. Kick off 10pm
“In any Danish setting with friends including TV/sporting nights, ‘hygge’ is the most important ingredient,” says Andrew Proctor from Denmark House in the CBD. “Hygee (pronounced hoo-gah) is all about cosiness, soft lighting, candles and plenty of snacks.”
He says such things as Danish hotdogs with remoulade and pickled cucumbers, and, of course, Danish meatballs are “the type of snacks to expect if you were watching the game with friends in Denmark”.
To make the famous Danish meatballs, mix 1kg pork and 1kg veal mince with 5 eggs, 100g flour, 250ml milk and 2 finely chopped brown onions. Roll mixture into golf ball-sized pieces, sear in an oiled pan and finish in the oven for around 8 mins. Serve with potato salad.
Sweet pickled cucumbers and remoulade transform an ordinary cocktail frank into a Danish hot dog.
First, sprinkle thinly sliced cucumbers with salt and let sit for 15 mins. Squeeze out the juice, cover with “grandma pickle liquid” — equal parts salt, sugar and water — and leave overnight. For an easy Danish remoulade combine equal parts sweet mustard and mayonnaise.
To serve, add a cocktail frank into a mini brioche roll, top with cucumbers, remoulade and fried onions.
AUSTRALIA V PERU
Wed, June 27, kick off 12am.
Young chef Charlie Carrington — whose restaurant Atlas like the World Cup also travels the globe changing its entire cuisine every few months — has just finished serving up the best of Peru in his Prahran dining room.
He suggests ceviche on corn chips, emapadas and mussels with salsa as his go-to Peruvian-inspired snacks for the match.
For the ceviche, slice 500g kingfish, 1 avocado, 1 small red onion and the leaves from 2 coriander stalks and set aside together.
Using a blender, blitz 100g celery, 100g white onion, 2 garlic cloves, 30g ginger, 50g salt, 10g sugar and two coriander stems, then strain reserving the liquid. Mix the liquid with 100ml lime juice, 150ml orange juice, and 70ml pisco or vodka. Pour this over the fish for five minutes, then serve immediately with corn chips.
Charlie uses lamb in the empanadas for an Aussie take on the South American snack staple.
First, fry 400g lamb mince until the fat starts to render.
Then add 1 white onion and 1 finely diced tomato, 2 tsp aji amarilo chilli paste (available at South American delis) and 20g palm sugar and slowly cook until mince is browned. Season with 1 tsp cumin and allow to cool. Add 2 finely chopped boiled eggs and 100g goat’s cheese and set aside.
Cut 10cm circles of puff pastry, add 1 tbsp of filling, fold like a taco and push edges together with a fork. Bake in 180C oven for 25 mins. Serve with uchucuta — a Peruvian chilli sauce. Blend 2 jalapeños, ½ a large cucumber, 2 tsp chopped mint, ¼ red onion, 1 tsp coriander and 50g evaporated milk until smooth. Season with salt and lime juice to taste.
Finally, Charlie puts a twist on oysters as an aperitivo-style snack by using mussels instead.
Heat a large pot with a splash of oil and add 2kg mussels. Cover and let steam until shells open. Take the top shell off each mussel and set the bottoms aside. Reserve the pan juices and add to a salsa of 2 finely diced tomatoes, 1 diced white onion and ½ coriander bunch, chopped. Season with lime juice and 50g chia seeds (hydrated in 100ml water). Top each mussel with a tsp of salsa.
Butter bing, butter boom!
Given we’ll be thinking all things Russian for the next month, what better time to get stuck into the 70s classic that’s timeless guilty pleasure — Chicken Kiev.
Let’s face it, there’s little better than garlicky, buttery, breadcrumbed protein and Matt Wilkinson, who brought back the staple and put his East Brunswick cafe Pope Joan on the map when he started serving the daggy dish which had the hipsters hooked.
He’s put it back on the menu for the next couple of Fridays before the cafe closes for good on June 24.
But if you can’t get there for one last meal, he’s shared his recipe so we can all make it at home.
Milawa chicken Kiev by Matt Wilkinson
INGREDIENTS
100g butter, softened
50g garlic, peeled and grated
½ bunch parsley
4 skinless chicken breast
Kiev cut, bones frenched
¼ savoy cabbage
1 red onion sliced finely
100ml olive oil
30ml chardonnay vinegar
½ bunch chives
2 lemons
4 eggs
100ml milk
400g breadcrumbs
100g plain flour
— Serves 4.
METHOD
Preheat oven to 20OC.
For the garlic butter, place the grated garlic in a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain off under cold water and squeeze the garlic out well, in a cloth, to remove any excess liquid.
Finely chop half of the parsley and mix with the soft butter and garlic. Place this mixture in a piping bag, ready to fill the chicken breasts.
To clean the chicken breasts, take off the tenderloins (if they are on) and any excess skin. Using a small knife, gently make a small incision (about 0.5cm) to the breast — at the top, halfway in. Be careful to not pierce the breast in any other places.
Once incisions are made in each breast, carefully pipe the butter into each incision. Gently guide the butter down into each cavity, adding more as needed. Leave a small gap at the top of the incision clear so you can fill it with breadcrumbs and ensure no butter escapes.
To crumb the breasts, firstly make an egg wash by whisking the eggs and milk together. Coat each breast in flour,
then egg wash, then the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg wash and breadcrumbs steps again, to coat twice.
To make the accompanying slaw, finely slice the cabbage and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the red onion, olive oil and chardonnay vinegar and 2 pinches of salt.
Combine well and allow the cabbage to soften.
Roughly chop the remaining parsley and chop the chives into batons and set aside. These will be added to the slaw just prior to serving.
To cook the chicken breasts, place a large frying pan on a medium to high heat and — once hot — add 100ml oil. Fry until golden on both sides, then place them on an oven tray and bake in the oven for
12 to 15 minutes. Take them out and turn the breasts over. With a cake tester insert it just below the bone and leave in for 10 seconds, touch it to your lip and see if it is hot. If it is, then they are ready to serve. If not, put back in for another 4 minutes then check again.
Mix the parsley and chives through the slaw and divide equally on the plates. Cut the lemon into four quarters (cheeks) Season the chicken breasts with salt and add one to each plate alongside a cheek of lemon.
Matt Wilkinson’s Milawa chicken Kiev is available on Pope Joan’s night menu until the final service on June 24. popejoan.com.au
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