Pelmeni

Although I have had ample opportunity to taste the delicacies of Russian cuisine (caviar, smoked salmon, ect.) I believe I have discovered one of Russia's finest of foods. Though modest in appearance and prolific throughout grocery stores of every shape and size, the glory of pelmeni is unparalleled. This small dumpling comes in all shapes and sizes and could be best described as a hybrid between a Chinese steamed dumpling and an Italian tortellini or ravioli. Pelmeni are usually filled with meat and seasoning. The method of preparation is simple: buy your favorite kind at the market (most come frozen), boil a small pot of water with salt, add pelmeni and allow to cook and finally after draining the gems, put them in a bowl with lots of sour cream (smetana). Ideally when you bite into the pelmeni there will still be remnants of salty water which explode through the dough and create a kind of broth with the sour cream in your mouth as you try not to devour an entire bowl in less than a minute. Pelmeni-- yet another addition to all the things Russia does right.