A Forgotten Classic

If you consider yourself knowledgeable about Russian cuisine, but have never heard of telnoye, don’t worry. You are not alone.

A staple of both the gentry and peasant kitchen from at least the seventeenth century, telnoye has been mostly forgotten. And even those who have heard of the dish associate it with what is known as zrazy,
crescent-shaped fried cutlets made from minced fish. Traditionally, however, telnoye has been so much more: it can be deep-fried, boiled in a cloth, baked, or used as stuffing.

I would even venture a guess that the baked version is the most authentic when it comes to Russian peasant cuisine, as a traditional Russian stove is best suited to that purpose.

The word telnoye (the stress falls on the first syllable) first and foremost refers to dishes made from white fish filets – the fish body, telo – as opposed to the heads and tails, which were used to make fish soup, ukha, for example. Additionally, telnoye always refers to dishes made from minced fish filets. That fish mince is then used in a variety of ways, but the following recipe is probably the simplest of them all.

The dish is best served with mashed potatoes, and garnished with herbs. My husband, who thought the name of the dish was very funny before I cooked it, gave high praise to the final result and suggested that it could also be made in individual ramekins and served as hot zakuska with some cold vodka. It tastes really good even cold, as leftovers. The recipe was tested by our food photographer, who offered what might be the highest form of praise: “Even the kids ate it with pleasure.” What more can you ask for?

Baked Telnoye

Slightly more than a pound (500 grams) of white fish filet, such as haddock, cod, pike-perch, striped catfish
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
a bunch of dill and parsley, also chopped finely
½ a beaten egg
1 tsp of cream
1 ounce of butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

SAUCE

5 ounces sour cream
zest from half a lemon
some white pepper
1-2 tbsp lemon juice

First, prepare the fish mince. It is best to make it using a meat grinder, but feel free to use a food processor (or even a blender, if that’s the only thing you have). If you go the food processor/blender route, the final result will be more tender, like a fish souffle, but in the process, the fish balls might have more trouble holding together. If you use a meat grinder, you’ll have an excellent, pliable mince that lends itself well to shaping fish balls.

Add finely chopped onions and herbs to the minced fish, mix well. Beat the egg, pour half out, add the heavy cream, mix, and stir into the fish mixture. Mix well, salt and pepper to taste. Let stand for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, heat up your stove to 430 F (220 C) and melt the butter.

Using your hands, form fish balls (more like fish patties if you used the blender). As for their size, you should be able to fit a couple of them in the palm of your hand, or feel free to make them smaller. Place them in a deep baking dish and brush them with melted butter (if you have any left, just pour it into the dish). Put in the oven for 15 minutes. Use this time to prepare the sauce by mixing the sour cream with lemon zest and juice and some pepper. After 15 minutes, take the dish out and turn the heat down to 350 F (180 C). Pour the sour cream sauce over telnoye and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes.