The very first challah from Olya Shtalberg

The recipe I use to make challah — I took a photo of my classmate's recipe at Masa. And she brought it from a Rebbetzin from the St. Petersburg synagogue. The first time we made challah together was in the dorm (it was my first challah); since then, I have been making it using this recipe, and I send this photo to everyone who asks for the recipe.

View the recepie

View all stories

Onion pie from Zhenya Fogelson

Zhenya Fogelson’s mom worked as a tour guide in the 1970s, collecting recipes from all over the Soviet Union. One special recipe she brought home was a French onion pie, passed on by a fellow traveler. Now, Zhenya makes it for family celebrations.

View the recipe

sweets

Kartoshka (“Potato” chocolate sponge cake)

I can't call myself a fan of Soviet cuisine, nor do I feel any nostalgia for it—there's no Olivier salad, meat jello (kholodets), or herring "shuba" in our home. But some Soviet pastries?

View the recipe

bread

Medieval flatbread from wholegrain flour

Simple food often brings warm feelings - it doesn’t call for special occasions, and it’s both humble and familiar. When Sonya was writing her dissertation on the Celts, she met a historian from Scotland through ICQ. He helped her with linguistic research, and in return, she shared a recipe for wholegrain flatbread made from leftover oatmeal and flour. He called them “medieval flatbreads” and still makes them for his family to this day.