Kazan — summer 2010

Although the Russians' love of alcohol is legendary, and although students of Russian often talk about the Russians' love of sour cream, their passion for mayonnaise is equally astonishing. For instance, I was at a cafe this morning and ordered manty, which are kind of like enormous ravioli. Doubtless hearing a bit of an accent in my voice, the cashier asked whether I wanted ketchup or mayo with them. Well, duh, I know the answer to that one: we are in Russia so it has to be mayo! Here's a picture of the manty. Note the quantity of mayo on them:

Pretty amazing, huh? The Russians top soups with mayo. If you mix mayo with 100 grams of any vegetable matter, then they call it a salad. One of the most famous Russian salads is called "fur-lined herring", which when you first look at it seems to have little mayo:

Now as to the recipe, we start with the ingredients:

• 300 g herring, shredded
• 300 g grated, boiled potato
• 300 g grated, boiled carrot
• 300 g grated, boiled beets
• 300 g grated apple
• 150 g grated
• mayo

Now the procedure:

1. Place the potatoes on a serving dish. Even them out. Cover with mayo.
2. Put the herring on top. Cover with mayo.
3. Put the onion on top.
4. Put the carrots on top of the onions. Cover with mayo.
5. Put the apples on the carrots. Cover with mayo.
6. Cover with beets. Even the layer out.
7. Garnish with mayo.

This is no joke. This is the real recipe for the dish. Astonishing, eh?