Salt & Time: Recipes from a Russian kitchen

This cookbook is such an interesting take on Russian/Siberian classics. The flavours are amazing and definitely not dull (as some people imagine Eastern European cuisine to be). I now already own a few cookbooks from this part of the world but nothing feels like a repetition of what's already published. I am looking forward to trying her take on Borsch as it has less conventional ingredients yet looks very tasty. I also like how she modernised some dishes that even I as a Russian born person felt quite put off trying or having again like "herring in furs" or "salat Olivier" (my mum's version is too mayo heavy and I never felt like eating it which is quite the opposite in the book). I also did the "hedgehog" meatballs as the recipe said that it goes down well with young fussy eaters which was indeed the case with mine. I have also baked a few cakes, my favourite being the semolina one as it's incredibly simple, not too sweet and addictive. The dukkah butter is also delicious and was approved by all my English guests (so were the cakes of course). Finally I can't finish the review without mentioning the aesthetics of the book. The pictures of the food and Siberian landscape are beautiful and I like cookbooks filled with stories and context which this one does nicely.

An elegant book . Atmospheric too.

Its a fantastic book packed full of Russian cuisine recipes, and then some. Alissa, the author, takes you on an extraordinarily culinary journey across the whole Russia. She weaves her own stories and reminiscences of her Soviet childhood into the book, so you know the book is based on personal insights into the Russian cuisine, rather than just a generic collection of Russian recipes. That said, the book is very hands-on and the recipes are easy to follow. I’ve baked the semolina cake, and it was delicious! It got eaten in no time, it was so good (all the credit here goes to the author, not me, as I merely followed the recipe:)) I can’t wait to try out another recipe. The challenge is to choose which one is going to be next one: there are so many!

So far I've made the plov, lagman (subbed eggplant for a veggie version), millet, cod, trout, the buckwheat risotto (with showstopper pesto!), and the honey cake (going on repeat!). Although it might take a little time (hey, it's in the title!) , everything has been very easy and turned out great and super delicious. Living in the northern hemisphere, the ingredients are easy to find. I tried many of the recipes on weeknights after work. My absolute favourite so far was the trout and potato stew in a clay pot; the gorgeous aroma when I removed the lid took me right back ( a la Anton Ego in Ratatouille) to my friends' kitchens in Russia... :) priceless! I can't wait to try more recipes. With a large cookbook collection, I sometimes feel like I already have every recipe and hesitate to buy more books, but this book is an excellent addition.

I suppose I should have guessed from a review saying how the book was "atmospheric" that it wouldn't be practical enough. Maybe some of the recipes were "classic", but it wasn't the everyday cooking I was looking for.

I've been living abroad for almost 10 years, and when I saw this book somewhere on Instagram, I thought: This is a must-have for our family! But when it arrived, I realized that it's not only about the recipes - the book is stunning visually and to the touch. And moving on through the pages, I've realized how much I miss my grandma's and mom's cooking! It has all the traditional recipes, which I'm planning to cook one by one and show my little son a bit of his Russian roots! Oh, and for non-Russian buyers - don't worry, all the things are absolutely delicious! If you are looking for something interesting to cook, definitely give it a go. It's totally worth it!

lovely recipes

I've read the book cover to cover the first day it'd arrived in the post. It's stunning - in terms of the visuals, the design, and the contents. I don't really cook recipes from my books but I've written down a long list of ideas for flavor combinations and uses for ingredients. I'm also from Eastern Europe and expected much more similarity with Polish cooking, yet I was surprised by some of the recipes, I've had no idea Siberian cooking had such a strong Asian influence. It's surely an informative and inspiring book. I can only recommend it!

Beautiful Cookbook! Gave it as a gift

Beautiful pictures, telling a story and taking you on a trip to Siberia. Authentic and at the same time fresh and modern recipes with simple, but impressive presentation! Top quality, can recommend it to all of my friends and as a present 👍👍 Love it!

Beautiful book stories we need at this time in our world ; the cherry flour cake is amazing & yes Amazon sells the bird cherry flour.

Very interesting. Good stories and nice pictures.

This is a lovely book! Beautifully written and photographed and crammed full of cookable recipes. Alissa Timoshkina takes you on an adventure through her wonderful country and special region (Siberia), meeting people, eating their food, looking and cooking in their kitchens with truly family's receipts. I buy ridiculous numbers of cookery books but this is one is really special, because opens the doors to a not so popular cuisine here in Western. Congratulations Alissa!!