Potatoes

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Complication —

It would not be true to say that our compatriots got to know potatoes much later than, for example, the French. It was Peter I who sent the first shipment of potatoes to Russia with the order to distribute them to all provinces for cultivation. However this wonderful idea was not to come true during his life. Although some sources testify that the peoples of Siberia and the Urals had known this culture long before.
Catherine II also suffered a fiasco. In 1765, 57 barrels of potatoes were delivered to Moscow from Germany. The Medical Board while finding a means to help the hungry peasants of Finland "without a big expense" reported to the Senate that the best way to prevent this disaster was in "those ground apples, also referred to in England as potetes, and in other places as ground pears, tortufeli and kartufeli".
Then, under the command of the Empress, potatoes as well as manuals on its cultivation were sent all over the Empire. The executive control was authorized to the local governors. However the invention failed – people would not let overseas product to their table.
Even in the early 19th century potatoes were still poorly known by the culinary specialists of Russia. The educated people of that time took it with fear. Until mid 19th century, potatoes, despite the strict orders of the government, did not occupy a worthy place in the people’s meals. Now they do. A lot of tasty, simple and refined dishes can be made of potatoes. Fried, stewed, baked, grated, mashed, and simply boiled potatoes are irreplaceable in our menu. And how tasty are hot aromatic potatoes with herring, sauerkraut, pickled gherkins, spring onions, fresh vegetables, lard cracklings, soaked cowberries or "paradise" apples! Potatoes need no advertising – skilled housewives know their value. We bring to your attention recipes of various potato dishes – from most ordinary everyday ones to celebratory and even exotic, but invariable tasty and not difficult to cook.

Potatoes Roasted with Onions and Mushrooms

8-10 potatoes
5-8 fresh mushrooms
2 onions
0.3 cup grated cheese or white breadcrumbs
baked butter
salt to taste
Peel potatoes, wash, boil, dry and slice into circles. Clean mushrooms, wash, slice, fry in heated oil, crush, and mix with peeled, crushed and fried onions. Salt to taste. Butter the baking tray, lay potatoes, add salt. Lay onions with mushrooms, sprinkle with melted oil, and put another layer of potatoes above. Pour smetana, sprinkle grated cheese or breadcrumbs, and roast in oven heated to 160-180 degrees until ruddy. Garnish with fresh vegetables.

Tsar-Style Potatoes

1kg potatoes
3-4 onions
400g pork or 500g white chicken
50-70g cheese
200g mayonnaise
black ground pepper
salt to taste
Cut onions into rings and put them into a buttered baking tray. Put sliced meat above (boned), add salt, pepper, a little water or broth not to let the onions burn and the meat dry. Do not interchange onions and meat. Thank to this the meat does not dry, but remains juicy.
Cut potatoes into rings and lay them above. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pour in mayonnaise. Do not change the sequence of cheese and mayonnaise either. Mayonnaise does not let the cheese dry, and they bake together into a beautiful crust. Roast 40 minutes in the oven. As soon as the mayonnaise reddens, and a knife pierces through potatoes easily, the dish is ready.

Potatoes with Bacon

1.5kg potatoes
250g bacon
1 bunch fresh bay leaf
salt, pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Peel and wash potatoes, and make cuts in one side to shape them as fans. Cut bacon into wide stripes. Wash and dry bay leaf. Put bacon and bay leaf into potato cuts. Add salt and pepper. Brush a baking tray with olive oil or lay in baking paper, and put in the potatoes. Roast in oven about 45 minutes until goldish. It can be served with lettuce leaves. The best for this dish is young potatoes.

Potato Pancakes with Salmon

20g yeast
1 tsp sugar
125ml (1/8L) warm milk
200g potatoes
250g wheat flour
50g warm melted butter
salt
1 egg
75g vegetable oil
1 cup smetana
1 cup sour cream
lemon juice
100g salmon slices
Crush yeast and mix it with sugar and 5 tablespoons of warm milk.
Peel, wash, and grate potatoes. Sift flour into a bowl, make a deepening in the middle, pour the dissolved yeast into it, sprinkle in a