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IKRA - Russian eggplant caviar/Russian aubergine caviar

Someone was looking for a "soft aubergine/eggplant spread with tomatoes" and I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's a dish in Russia, our Eastern neighbour, which is called IKRA or fake caviar. I got this recipe from Russian friend Galina back in Edinburgh sometimes around 2000. Still makes a regular appearance in our kitchen.  It's lovely on a slice of toast, or as a condiment or spread on a mezze-table. Russian aubergine spread IKRA 1 large aubergine/eggplant 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh parsley or dill Prick the aubergine with a fork here and there, then place into a preheated 200C/400F oven and bake for about 60 minutes, until fully cooked and slightly charred on the outside. Flip over once or twice during baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Then cul half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place into a cutting b...
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Things to do with wild strawberries: Wild Strawberries and Cream



In every person's life there comes a time when they've got almost 1,5 kilograms freshly picked wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca, see a gorgeous photo by a talented Estonian photographer here) at hand. I'm no different. It happened to me in 2006, in 2007, and again about a fortnight ago. K. and I spent just under 2 hours on our secret wild strawberry field, we barely covered a plot larger than a large kitchen, and we had a 3 litre jar of wild strawberries between us. What can you do??!

Well, one of the easiest things to do (and one of my favourite childhood memories) is following. I've given a 'recipe' below, but you really do not need one. It's healthy, summery, quick, and oh-so-very Estonian (unless you pick 'smultron' in Sweden, or 'ahomansikkoita' in Finland, or 'Walderdbeere' in Germany, or 'fraises des bois' in France, and so on, in which case this dessert would be very Swedish or Finnish or German or French, and so on, of course.)

PS It is especially nice when done with wild strawberries that you've picked yourself. But if that's tricky, then use the ones from a friendly market vendor instead..



Wild strawberries with milk or cream
(Metsmaasikad rõõsa koore või piimaga)
Serves 1

half a cup of wild strawberries
half a cup of single cream or whole milk
2 to 3 tsp sugar

Place the wild strawberries into a glass and sprinkle with sugar. Crush slightly with a wooden spoon.
Pour over milk or cream and eat with a small spoon, stirring as you go.
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IKRA - Russian eggplant caviar/Russian aubergine caviar

Someone was looking for a "soft aubergine/eggplant spread with tomatoes" and I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's a dish in Russia, our Eastern neighbour, which is called IKRA or fake caviar. I got this recipe from Russian friend Galina back in Edinburgh sometimes around 2000. Still makes a regular appearance in our kitchen.  It's lovely on a slice of toast, or as a condiment or spread on a mezze-table. Russian aubergine spread IKRA 1 large aubergine/eggplant 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh parsley or dill Prick the aubergine with a fork here and there, then place into a preheated 200C/400F oven and bake for about 60 minutes, until fully cooked and slightly charred on the outside. Flip over once or twice during baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Then cul half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place into a cutting b...
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Festival food: Estonian Song and Dance Celebration 2014

This is a very special weekend for Estonia - our 26th Song Celebration and 19th Dance Celebration takes place. You'll get all the necessary information on this website , I'll focus on food here ;) It's a huge festival - with about 100 000 people gathered at the Song Festival Square, among them over 20 000 singers! You can imagine the amount of food you need to feed all those people during the weekend :) Festival food isn't usually known for its gastronomic finesse and wonderful flavour, but the food I saw yesterday at the Tallinna Lauluväljak (Song Festival Square) was pretty interesting. Here's a short overview for you, should you head to the celebrations today. The main eating area is marked with the red circle on the map below. "Merevärav" marks the "sea entrance" on Pirita road, so in case you're hungry, you should head to the right after entering the Song Festival grounds: It's also where the EESTI TOIDU VÄLJAK aka Estonian Food Co...
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Wild garlic pesto aka ramson pesto recipe

(From the recipe archives - originally posted in April 2011. Three years on, this is still my favourite way of preparing wild garlic pesto. You can use either ramson or ramps). Wild garlic has arrived! Wild garlic, also known as ramson or bear's garlic ( Allium ursinum , ' karulauk ' in Estonian), is a very close relative to the wild leek aka ramp ( Allium tricoccum , ' grislilauk ' in Estonian). I've been eagerly waiting for this spring green, as I love both the flavour and the versatily of it, and it's a good health-booster at this time of the year. Well, if it's good enough for big brown bears, it's good enough for us :D Although I've been happily making a wild garlic pesto with pinenuts for a few years now, this one is a new favourite. There's more flavour, and somehow it's much more gutsier than the 'regular' wild garlic pesto. The idea to use almonds instead of pinenuts in a wild garlic pesto is from a German food magazin...
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