The connecting link: what sauces have been added to the Russian cuisine

Today, the international cookbook contains thousands of sauce recipes, and each gastronomic culture has its own favorites. Many of the previously unknown seasonings are successfully adopted in Russian cooking, and chefs are experimenting with them, adapting them to our taste habits. It is unlikely to be possible to cover all new sauces in one article, so Izvestia decided to look into those that are most often found on restaurant menus.

Chutney

Chutneys are a whole group of traditional Indian sauces based on fruits or vegetables with spices. Some varieties are prepared with fresh, raw ingredients and served cold, often for a refreshing effect. Warm chutneys undergo heat treatment and add depth and richness to the food.

Mullet tartare with mandarin chutney and fenugreek

Photo: Leo Wine&Kitchen

— The difference between chutney and other sauces is the large number of spices, which often give a bright pungency, — Maxim Lyubimov, chef and co-owner of Leo Wine&Kitchen restaurant (Rostov-on-Don), told Izvestia. — Spices are essential ingredients, without them we will get just jam or something similar to salsa.

According to our interlocutor, these sauces are especially appreciated for opening up a huge scope for experiments, allowing you to use almost any fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Yogurt chutneys go well with vegetables and tortillas, while fruit and vegetable chutneys are suitable for both fish and meat, depending on the acidity and spices. After a trip to India, Chef Lyubimov introduced a dish with lamb, celery root samosas and chutney based on plums, spices, ginger, vinegar and curry. Another example from his restaurant is mullet tartare with mandarin chutney and fenugreek. The freshness and acidity of citrus fruits balance the taste of the dish, and the spices give it piquant shades.

Lamb with celery root samosas and plum chutney

Photo: Leo Wine&Kitchen

Baked mackerel can be served with fresh green tomato chutney with coriander and lime. To do this, first put the cilantro, ginger, fresh lime and tahini in a blender. Then mix the resulting mass with finely chopped tomatoes and season with a mixture of spices such as fennel, coriander and chaat masala. Apricot chutney is perfect for lamb meat. To make it, lightly fry the finely chopped shallots, garlic, ginger and add a little cane sugar. Then pour in the red wine vinegar, add apricots, a little cinnamon, black cardamom, black pepper, cumin, coriander and cook until tender.

Like cheese in dough: what unusual khachapuri is prepared in restaurants

And what is the secret of the success of Georgian pies in Russia?

Demiglas

Concentrated demiglas meat sauce came to us from the culinary school of France. It is prepared by steaming the broth from the bones for a long time with the addition of wine and spices, and has a rich taste and rich aroma.

— Demiglas is a fairly versatile sauce, with which you can greatly enrich the taste of dishes from meat of animals and birds, as well as vegetables, — says Igor Shiyanov, chef of the Red Wall restaurant (Nizhny Novgorod). — It can be cooked not only from beef bones, but also from mutton, rabbit, duck and even quail. The longer it cooks, the richer its taste becomes.

Deer fillet with demiglas sauce with berries and juniper

Photo: Red Wall

As in the case of broths, demiglas can be prepared with various additional ingredients, our expert continues. The basic composition, in addition to bones (when choosing beef, it is advisable to leave the bone marrow), usually includes onions, carrots, celery, red wine, tomato paste, spices (bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns) and water. In Red Wall, the sauce is made from the accumulated bones of farm ducks, which makes its taste especially remarkable and allows you to adhere to the chosen zero waste concept. The resulting demiglass helps to better reveal the tender and low-fat wild deer tenderloin, complemented by berries and juniper.

Risotto with parmesan cheese, chicken garum, sweet and sour red onion and vegetable demiglas

Photo: Butler

In home cooking, our interlocutor advises using demiglas in different versions of stews. The bones for the sauce can be baked and stored in the refrigerator until the right moment. You can also try to cook an unusual demiglas from white cabbage. To do this, the cabbage should be baked until golden brown. Then add the kombu seaweed, washed and previously soaked in cold water, pour boiling water over it, cover with a lid and leave for two hours in a warm place. After the time has elapsed, the liquid should be filtered, boiled and finally tightened with starch.

Royal hunt: what is cooked in restaurants with porcini mushrooms

And what role do boletus mushrooms play in modern Russian cuisine?

Tonnato

Fish sauce tonnato was invented in Italy as an addition to dishes with lean meat. The main ingredients of the seasoning are high—quality canned tuna and homemade mayonnaise.

Omelet with tender roast beef and tonnato sauce

Photo: Kislovsky

"Mayonnaise gives the sauce its fat content and consistency, while fish gives it a strong protein flavor and umami effect," explained the brand chef of the Siberian cuisine restaurant Tunguska (Krasnoyarsk) to our publication Nikolai Bobrov. — The sauce goes well with meat dishes, such as the classic vitello tonnato appetizer, as well as fish dishes, and even fresh vegetable dishes.

Tortilla from the oven with roast beef, fried chanterelles, tonnato sauce on tugun and pickled cucumber

Photo: Tunguska

In various interpretations, tuna in tonnato can be replaced with any other fish with a powerful, bright taste or with cod liver, our expert is convinced. In Tunguska, the sauce is made from Yenisei tugun and added to one of the most popular dishes on the a la carte menu — kefir tortilla from the oven with roast beef and onion dressing. This combination of ingredients in the snack makes it bright in taste and understandable to many guests.

Nicoise with baby potatoes in tonnato sauce

Photo: mi Chaise

To make this simple sauce at home, you need to choose the ready-made mayonnaise that you like best (in terms of fat content, acidity and sugar levels, and mustard notes) and mix it thoroughly with a blender with the best canned tuna (in oil or its own juice) that you can find in the store. For more expressiveness, you can add some aged cheese, chopped capers or pickled cucumber to the tonnato.

Up to the neck: what dishes from crayfish are prepared in restaurants

And why are these arthropods becoming more and more in demand among the guests

Teriyaki and unagi

In Japanese cuisine, teriyaki and unagi are the same basic sauces as demiglas in French. They differ from each other in that sake is added to the first, and mirin rice wine is added to the second.

— The recipe of both sauces is very flexible, so they can be used in any cuisine in the world, — Yaroslav Andreev, chef of the Amber Japanese restaurant (Moscow), shares his opinion. — In my opinion, teriyaki with soy bean miso paste is more suitable for meat dishes. And unagi, thanks to the neutralizing fishy smell of mirin, works great with rice, fish and seafood and goes well with yuzu juice.

Katsu striploin with teriyaki sauce

Photo: Amber

Amber Restaurant cooks its own version of teriyaki, which includes soy sauce, mirin, honey, sugar, sake, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger and chicken broth. One of the most sought—after dishes with this sauce is katsu sandwiches with premium striploin steak.

Tamago yaki omelet roll with eel and unagi sauce

Photo: Oshi Izakaya Emperor

For those who dare to cook unagi sauce at home, chef Andreev recommends using his recipe. To do this, mix 660 g of dry white wine and 880 g of mirin. The resulting liquid should be evaporated by 2/3, and then add 200 g of soy sauce to it and simmer everything on low heat for two hours. Then add 400 g of sugar and simmer for another 2-2.5 hours over low heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula. At the end, add a small amount of lime or lemon juice to the sauce.

Aioli

Aioli sauce has its roots in Mediterranean cuisine. It is believed that it was first cooked in Provence, as a seasoning for fish and vegetables. The classic original version of the sauce does not add egg yolk, which distinguishes it from mayonnaise, although today it is often used as a lightweight substitute for the latter.

Misto fritto of langoustines, mini squid and zucchini with spinach aioli

Photo: Di Nulla

— The aioli base is an emulsion of olive oil and garlic, sometimes with the addition of egg yolk or protein, lemon juice or cold water, which gives the sauce a creamy texture, — says Yuri Kryuchkov, brand chef of More Seafood Bar (Vladivostok). — Today it is traditionally served with seafood, fish dishes and grilled meat. We prepare a sauce of garlic baked with thyme and olive oil and use it as a spread on bread for a sandwich with Far Eastern tuna.

Taimyr deer with glazed beetroot, wild garlic and black garlic aioli with porto

Photo: Tunguska

The preparation of aioli requires careful work with the ingredients to produce a delicate emulsion with a balanced taste. To do this, first grind the garlic in a mortar, adding coarse sea salt to make the process more efficient. Next, gradually add olive oil in small portions, continuing to rub until the ingredients form a homogeneous thick mass.