As a child, our grandmothers saw us as culinary magicians. And there was nothing in the world more delicious than dishes prepared by their skillful hands. All because they knew special secrets and tricks. It would be imprudent to neglect such an invaluable storehouse of knowledge. Therefore, today we decided to cook our favorite dishes according to proven family recipes. We will implement all our ideas together with the National trademark.
Pea soup without a flaw
There is little to compare with a fragrant thick pea soup for lunch. Yellow crushed peas “National”will help us to achieve the same taste. Crushed yellow peas do not require pre-soaking, they cook quickly enough: just 40 minutes is very convenient! You can immediately get down to business.
It is better to cook peas over medium heat, with this mode it turns out softer and tastier.
Here are a few more subtleties from our grandmothers. Carrots and onions for passerovki are cut smaller and fried in vegetable oil, necessarily with the addition of butter or melted butter. So the roast will acquire a rich taste and aroma. If you see that the soup is not thick enough, add 0.5 tsp of soda or a potato cut into small cubes.
And here is the recipe for pea soup itself. Beef on a bone weighing 400-500 g is poured with 300 ml of water, brought to a boil, salt and cook until ready for 1.5-2 hours. Do not forget to remove the incoming foam with a slotted spoon. At the same time with the meat, we put 200 g of National peas in a small amount of unsalted water in another saucepan until completely softened. When the beef is cooked, we take it out, and filter the broth through cheesecloth several times — this is exactly what our grandmothers did. Next, the broth must be brought to a boil again.
While the broth and peas are being prepared, we will do the frying. Finely chop a medium onion and a large carrot, fry in a mixture of vegetable and butter. Vegetables should acquire a beautiful golden-brown color. We put the roast in a saucepan with boiling broth, then pour out the finished peas. Now we will cut the boiled beef into small slices and also send it to the soup. At the end, salt and pepper it to taste, put the bay leaf. An important finishing touch: after removing the pan from the heat, cover it tightly with a lid and let it brew for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the soup to get enough of the flavors and better reveal the meat taste. The finished soup can be served with smoked meat and crackers.
Buckwheat with a merchant’s scale
Our grandmothers prepared hearty crumbly buckwheat in a merchant’s way with knowledge of the matter. For this dish, we will need buckwheat “National”. Thanks to special processing, calibration and cleaning, the appearance of the grains has improved, their nutritional value has increased and, importantly, the cooking time has been reduced. At the same time, all the valuable elements were preserved in full.
To get a rich aroma, our grandmothers poured dry cereals into a cast-iron frying pan without oil and thoroughly calcined. When the grains turned golden, and a seductive aroma spread through the kitchen, it was removed from the fire. Since buckwheat is traditionally cooked with poultry meat, chicken thighs are best suited for it. The bones from them were never thrown away. They were thrown into a frying pan with vegetable frying. Then it was saturated with an intense meat taste and became even more appetizing.
How is buckwheat prepared in a merchant’s way? Heat a deep frying pan with vegetable oil, put the chicken bones from the thighs, fry until golden brown. During this time, we will cut the onion into a cube, and the carrot into strips. Remove the bones from the pan and put the onion in it. To give it all the flavor, we lightly salt it and put a couple of peas of black pepper. As soon as the onion has become transparent, pour out the raw carrots and passeruem until softened. Now you can lay pieces of chicken thighs-about 300-400 g. For a more versatile taste, we add chopped sweet pepper, slices of tomatoes and 3-4 whole cloves of garlic. Simmer the vegetables with meat for 5-7 minutes.
It was buckwheat’s turn. Pour 300 g of calcined buckwheat “National” into the pan, fill it with hot water so that it slightly covers it. Instead of water, you can take chicken broth — our grandmothers resorted to this trick to make the dish even tastier. Do not forget to add salt to buckwheat, season with your favorite dry herbs or add tomato paste. Next, you need to wait until all the liquid is absorbed. You don’t need to mix anything.
Cover the pan tightly with a lid, reduce the flame to a minimum and simmer the grits until ready. Another small touch that will give the dish delicate notes: put a generous slice of butter in the pan and cover it again with a lid so that it melts. We wrap the porridge with a blanket and leave the buckwheat to ripen in a merchant’s way for 15-20 minutes.
Mannik comes from childhood
In the family culinary piggy bank there are many baking recipes, one is better than the other. Among them, the lush, ruddy mannik occupies a special place. The ideal basis for it will be semolina”National”. It is made from the best varieties of wheat, so it meets the highest quality standards. This cereal feels comfortable in baking and gives it a unique airy texture.
First of all, you need to soak the semolina. The grains will be saturated with moisture, soften and will not crunch on the teeth. You can take warm water or warmed milk. But our grandmothers preferred kefir, ryazhenka or yogurt. After all, semolina harmonizes most successfully with fermented milk products. It is advisable to soak the grits for at least half an hour, otherwise the grains will not have time to disperse.
For a more saturated taste, you can knead the dough with the addition of homemade cottage cheese or thick cream. Some housewives add cocoa or melted chocolate. Among other things, honey, dried fruits, candied fruits, nuts, poppies, berries, pieces of fruit or pumpkin are often put in the filling.
So, we start cooking. Pour 250 g of semolina “National” 250 ml of kefir and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. At this time, we melt 150 g of margarine in a water bath. In a separate bowl, beat 3 eggs and 200 g of sugar until the mass turns white and becomes homogeneous. Continuing to beat, we gradually introduce the melted margarine. Then sift 150 g of flour into the egg mass. Add 1-2 tablespoons of grated lemon zest and 1 tsp of soda slaked with vinegar. Thoroughly mix the mass until a homogeneous consistency.
If you put raisins in a mannikin, steam it in boiling water in advance and dry it well. For our recipe, you will need 100-120 g of light raisins. To prevent it from settling at the bottom of the mold when baking, our grandmothers resorted to a simple technique — they rolled raisins in flour. Last of all, we introduce the swollen semolina into the dough and knead it again.
A round baking dish is greased with vegetable oil and sprinkled with dry semolina. Spread the dough, level it with a spatula and put it in a preheated 180 °C oven for 30-35 minutes. Warm mannik can be lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar and decorated with raspberries. For sweetmeats, smear the pie with berry jam, condensed milk or custard.
Culinary secrets of our grandmothers can turn even the most ordinary dishes into works of culinary art. Products of the National trademark will help to give them a special sound. These are cereals and legumes of impeccable quality, produced according to traditional recipes using modern technologies. Thanks to them, you will always be able to please your relatives and guests with family dishes, the taste of which we remember and love since childhood.