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Main page / Restaurants, Cafes / Novgorod Menu
Novgorod Menu
Working hours:
9:30 – 18:00 (туристский информационный центр «Красная Изба»)

9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Red Izba Tourist Information Centre)

Address:
Veliky Novgorod

Telephone:
+7 (816 2) 777 003 (туристский информационный центр «Красная Изба»/ Red Izba Tourist Information Centre)

Fax:
+7 (816 2) 73 73 42

E-mail:
info@visitnovgorod.ru

www:
http://visitnovgorod.ru

GPS:
58.52039600, 31.26971700

Many epic poems and chronicles describe traditional Novgorod cuisine and its features. The people of Novgorod had such dishes on their tables as ognivo (thick soup made of fish fins), moose lips, white meat of a lynx, fried swans and long time boiled bear paws. The Novgorod cuisine had a lot of fish dishes. Today old residents of Veliky Novgorod carefully keep these traditions. They shared their skills and experience during our recipe contest Tasty Traditions. The jury chose the best 7 dishes which were included in the Novgorod Menu. And now you can try cooking them!

The residents of Novgorod and the Novgorod region sent us various recipes for soupsappetizersfish and meat pies. The judges tried to select the most authentic and exciting dishes that can be prepared in a usual Novgorod family.

It is impossible to imagine traditional Russian breakfast without porridge. “Suvorov's porridge” aroused jury’s interest with its unusual recipe. The soldiers of Suvorov’s army would say “Let’s warm up!”, as they considered porridge could evoke appetite. Anastasia Alekseeva (the village of Babki, Parfinsky district), however, may prove that eating porridge for breakfast is nutritious and, of course, tasty.

Potato zrazy (rolls) with mushroom gravy by Nina Khromova is an excellent accompaniment to the main course. Last year, the Novgorod farmers grew 300,000 tons of potato, so it’s safe to say that Novgorod region has no problems with it!

Traditional Novgorod lunch includes several dishes. As a first course, “Novgorod Menu” offers sour shchi (cabbage soup made from either fresh or fermented cabbage) with goose and mushrooms. Don’t be surprised by this "goose" ingredient. It was not troublesome for the families from Novgorod villages. Even now the farmers of Novgorod can provide goose meat in good supply.

Traditionally, soups have been served with small appetizers. For instance, borscht has been usually served with buckwheat porridge. It’s no secret that Novgorod region has always been famous for its kvass (a traditional beverage made from rye bread). Okroshka is a favorite Novgorod inhabitants’ dish. The jury offers to try a dish by Valentina Strigaleva – Krestetskiy Omelette (scrambled eggs with potatoes). The dish was traditionally served with okroshka and other cold soups. This recipe is not difficult but what is important is not to spare ingredients and cook from the heart.

The recipe by Tatiana Petukhova is stewed hare with berries and chanterelles. Amateurs of hunting are probably well acquainted with unusual taste of hare meat. The author of the recipe recommends serving hare with berry sauce and chanterelles in sour cream. Hunters should definitely adopt this recipe!

For dinner “Novgorod Menu” offers fish stuffed with sour cabbage (or sauerkraut). This extraordinary at first glance combination of ingredients turns into delicious and healthy dish indeed.

For baking lovers “Novgorod Menu” offers sulchiny. Sulchiny is a country dish made from rye flour and richly smeared with butter. This recipe has been carefully kept by Valentina Timofeeva, an inhabitant of the ancient Novgorod village Ust’-Volma. It was sulchiny that coachmen passing by the district of Kresttsy were regaled with. Even Catherine the Great, who came to halt in Novgorod lands when coming from Moscow to St. Petersburg, got to taste Novgorod cuisine, and sulchiny as well.

We call your attention to “Novgorod Menu”. Consider it for your holiday dinners!

1. Potato Zrazy With Mushroom Gravy by Nina Khromova

Ingredients: fresh cabbage, eggs, potatoes, flour, mushrooms (dried or fresh), onions, sour-cream, salt

The filling: chop the cabbage finely, add salt and fry it. Add the grated boiled eggs.

The mince: boil the unpeeled potatoes, peel them and mince, add salt, an egg, 1,5-2 tablespoons of flour. Mold zrazy, roll them in flour. 

Helpful tip: wet your hands from time to time so the minced potatoes would not stick to them.

Fry for 5 to 7 minutes on each side until browned.

The gravy: mince the mushrooms. Chop the onion finely and fry it with butter. Add 1-2 tablespoons of sour-cream, water, salt, and then mushrooms. Boil in a pan for 5-7 min.

2. Krestetskiy Omelette by Valentina Strigalyova, the village of Krestsy

Ingredients: boiled potatoes, butter, raw eggs, milk, salt.

Mash the boiled potatoes to the puree, add raw eggs, milk, butter, salt, mix it up to the thickness of cream, put into pots and bake in the Russian oven (or in an ordinary oven, because the Russian one is not common nowadays) until the crust turns brown.

Smear the top with beaten egg to make a nice crispy crust.

A tip: spare no eggs!

It is served up hot with cold soups - okroshka, cold borsch, etc. May be served as a separate dish as well. It’s very tasty!

3. “Suvorov's porridge” by Anastasia Alexeyeva, the village of Babki, Parfinskiy district

6 onions, 2 carrots, 4 tablespoons millet porridge, 4 tablespoons pearl barley, 4 tablespoons shelled peas, 2 glasses water, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, salt to taste

Chop onions and carrots finely and stew them with 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a frying pan until cooked. Wash the porridge and pearl barley and sort it out. Put 2/3 of vegetables into an oiled (1 tablespoonl) pan, then add the porridge and pearl barley. Pour two glasses of water and the rest of the vegetables. Bring to the boil, add salt and cook for 40 min. Wrap the pan up in a blanket and leave it for an hour. Serve it up hot or cold with various sauces.

4. Sulchiny by Elena Timofeeva (Ust’-Volma, Krestetsky District)

Ingredients for dough: 1 kg rye flour, a glass of water, 1,5 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour, salt and water up. Knead dough so that it wouldn’t stick to your hands, make several small balls (egg-sized) and then roll them out into thin layers.

Fry these flatbreads on a hot dry frying pan on both sides fast, be careful not to burn. Smear the hot flatbreads on both sides with butter and put on a plate. Prepare medium-thick millet porridge with milk.

Then spread the millet mush over the flatbreads and fold the edges from the two sides up to the centre. Now fold the halves to each other to make a rectangular shape. Sulchiny are served with melted butter and eaten hot, dipping into the butter to savor the delicious taste!

5. Russian Cabbage Soup with Goose and Mushrooms by Tatyana Petukhova

Ingredients: goose, fermented cabbage (sauerkraut), potatoes, mushrooms (soaked), carrots, onions.

Slice the goose and put it into a cooking pot, add the cabbage, mushrooms, diced potatoes, carrots and onions. Pour in some water, so that the level of it was 3 cm below the edge of the pot. Put it into the oven. Cook for an hour, then let it stew for 1,5-2 hours in a warm oven at 100̊C, so that it stewed properly.

6. Fish Stuffed with Sour Cabbage by Tatyana Petukhova

Stew the sour cabbage and chopped onions in sunflower oil and then stuff the fish (trout, salmon or bream). Put the fish io a baking tray smeared with some oil. Place the fish with its belly down on the baking tray. Don’t sew it up. Bake it.

Note: do not salt the cabbage while stewing (it already contains salt), rub the fish with salt from the outside. Before baking smear the fish with oil – so it will be juicy and soft. Serve the fish as a whole. The result looks good and appetizing!

7. Stewed Hare with Berries and Chanterelles by Tatyana Petukhova 

Cut the hare into flank steaks. It might be good to cook the legs separately, because it takes more time for them to be ready. Roll the steaks up in the rye flour (you can also use bread crumbs) and fry them slightly in oil. Put it into a pot or cauldron or thick pan. Fill in the water (3 cm), add chopped greens and 50 g of butter.

Fry the chanterelles (or ceps) in sour cream. While doing that, melt some butter in another frying pan, add cowberries and sugar (1 tablespoon of sugar per ½ cup cowberries). Stir until mushy. Then add 2-3 tablespoons of water and keep stirring. When the hare is stewed enough (the flash becomes soft and easy to free from bones) the dish is ready. Serve with berry gravy on top and mushrooms in sour cream as a side dish.

Invitation!

 «Porridge and cabbage soup
is but our native food», -
As old Russians used to claim.
But at times in prince's palace
Lavish feast was well arranged.

All the guests from all the countries:
Russian nobles, foreign merchants
Oversea ambassadors
Entered light and spacious hall
Looking forward to royal dinner
Russian cuisine is best of all!

All the dishes were amazing:
Ilmen pike perch and stuffed sturgeon,
Goldish goose, black caviar,
Mushrooms, berries, roast poultry,
Liqueurs, honey drinks, ect.

 

And the guests were all delighted
Pleased and grateful, and impressed.
So the recipes are worth now
To be used, remembered, kept.

Here in Russia guests are welcome,
Whether you are rich or not,
If you came from Russian cities
Or arrived from far abroad.
 


Visit our ancient town
Have a taste of our meals
You will love it – no doubt
And for sure come again!

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