Zrazy
Zrazy – stuffed meat balls – is one of the specialties of the national cuisine. This dish traces its roots back to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first written record of this dish dates back to the times of the Grand Duke and King Jagailo (15th century).
This savory dish was served to Zhigimont II who was married to Bona Sforza, a representative of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. The Italian princess liked the Belarusian traditional dish that reminded her of Italian cotoletta alla milanese.
At first zrazy was the food of the nobility, but later it found its way to the table of every Belarusian home. The dish is called differently depending on a region; you might here the names ‘zavivantsy’ or ‘krucheniki’.
Classic zrazy are made from beef. The meet is pounded, folded and rolled with a filling inside. It can be stuffed with mushrooms, liver, vegetables, eggs and cereals.
Ingredients:
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beef
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white mushrooms
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boiled egg
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smoked brisket
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onion
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cracker crumbs
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vegetable oil
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salt
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black pepper, bay leaf, allspice
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wheat flour
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carrot
Directions:
Dice the onion, brisket and boiled mushrooms and sauté them in vegetable oil until they are light brown. Add the cracker crumbs and simmer them for another 5 minutes.
Put the mushrooms, onion and brisket into a deep plate and cool them down a little bit. Grate the boiled egg, add salt and pepper, and stir well. The filling is ready.
Cut the beef (it is better to use tenderloin, although the hind part will also do) into small lockets and pound it well, so that the pieces will have a rectangular shape.
Put the filling on the meat, make rolls and fix them using toothpicks or a cooking thread. Roll them in the flour and fry until they are golden brown.
Put the onion, carrot, bay leaf, allspice, salt and pepper on the saucepan with water, bring the mix to the boil and put the fried rolls on top of it. Put the lid on and stew until it is ready.
Serve with buckwheat porridge and fried onions.
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