This is a gorgeous book. Written by Russian born Alissa Timoshkina founder of KinoVino supper club among other things. I was fortunate to meet her at Abergavenny Food Festival last year and interview her for my podcast At the Sauce (listen here) not long after the book had been released. As soon as we’d finished, I went and got a copy.
My followers on social media chose this book for October’s cooking the books – which, to remind you, is where I ask you to choose one of three books from my overflowing cookbook shelves and I pick recipe at (almost) random from the chosen book. The recipe I cooked this time was chicken and prunes with a brilliant back story to boot.
About Salt & Time
Salt & Time; Recipes from a Russian Kitchen is inspired by the food of Alissa’s homeland and her childhood. There’s a real atmosphere to the photography. It captures more than just a plate of food, it has emotion and is one million times better than the horrible night time ‘big light’ shots in this blog post today.
She writes from a place of knowledge. Aside from growing up in 1980’s Siberia with Russian and Jewish Ukrainian heritage, her recipes have influences from all over the region. That, paired with Siberia’s geographical position bordering the Ural mountains, Kazakhstan and Mongolia and a tumultuous history of exile and immigration has resulted in a book full of exciting recipes with nods to flavours found in Korea, Central Asia and beyond. Do take time to sit and read the intro to each recipe too, they each give a little insight into Alissa’s connection with the dish and for me, help bring these recipes to life!
I was quite surprised by the variety of the recipes. Some people might not find it as immediately accessible as some of the other books I’ve covered on my blog as it includes some complex dishes and less known flavour combinations here in the UK. That said, it’s a great book for adventurous cooks. Especially those who want to try something more unusual. Plus, in my experience, everything in it is always delicious and with clear instructions, even the more complex recipes seem easy enough to follow.
Chicken with prunes
Ingredients (cut down to serve 2):
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 chicken legs
- 25g unsalted butter
- 3 banana shallots, halved lengthways
- 60ml red wine
- 60ml chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp dried Herbs de Provence
- 65g pitted prunes, roughly chopped
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200c / gas mark 7
- Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan and fry the chicken legs, skin down, over a medium heat for 5 minutes to colour them. Remove them from the pan and leave to one side.
- Melt the butter in the same pan and as it starts to bubble, add the shallots flat side down. Fry for 5 minutes until the butter is almost all absorbed.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine and let the alcohol cook off by increasing the heat for a minute.
- Next, add the chicken stock, herbs and prunes. Reduce the stock for 2-3 mins over a high heat.
- Return the chicken legs to the pan, crispy skin side up and transfer the pan to the oven to cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear when pierced.4
We ate this with a pile of creamy mashed potato and it was absolutely delicious. Such a rich hearty sauce and very easy dish to prepare. I will definitely make this again! Perhaps next time with some green vegetables on the side too, broccoli would work well. I can’t wait to cook more dishes from Salt and Time soon!
I think that what appeals to me is precisely what you described about “complex dishes and less known flavour combinations”, as well as that insight into a culture and cuisine I’m only minimally familiar with. This recipe looks really good!