Kasha

When I decided to start this blog, one of my first ideas was to write an article about kasha. This dish is a Russians' favourite and it is made of a wonderful grain: buckwheat, or греча (grecha) in Russian.

Unlike what its name might suggest, buckwheat has nothing to do with wheat and, most importantly, it does NOT contain gluten!

Dry buckwheat can be found in most supermarkets in the starchy food compartment and is really easy to cook.

Traditionally, it comes in the form of small crushed grains that you boil the same way you would boil rice until tender. The Russians then eat it as it is or sometimes add a bit of meat stock. I personally find this way of cooking to be a touch plain and I like to spice it up with other ingredients.

The version I prepared last night turned out quite well and included mushrooms, onions and eggs. This version is rather simple and is called kasha kupecheskaya.

I added a bit of sour cream to keep it from being too dry.

What I really want to try (maybe next time) is cooking it with chicken, cream and mushrooms! (And a bit of melted cheese for the French side...)

Another use you can make of it is by making buckwheat pancakes with the grain's flour, as we do in France, and more specifically in Brittany. The buckwheat gives the pancakes a really nice original flavour which goes well with savoury ingredients.

Here you can find the buckwheat pancake recipe and lots of filling ideas!

My favourite type of filling will always be the "complète" with cheese, ham, mushrooms and an egg on top!

Buckwheat flour can be found in big supermarkets such as Ashan or Karusel, my favourite one.

If you have any ideas of recipes with buckwheat, you are welcome to post them in the comments!

Communicating in Russia

Here are ways of letting people know what your condition is. Those sentences were written with the help of my Russian teacher* so I'm pretty certain they're right:


I have an allergy/intolerance to gluten, I cannot eat wheat/wheat flour
У меня аллергия на клейковину, мне нельзя есть пшеницу/ пшеничную муку.
U menya allergia na kleykavinu, mne nelzya yest pshenitsu/ pshenichnuyu muku.


There's gluten in wheat, rye and barley.
Клейковина в пшенице, ячмене и ржи.
Kleykavina v pshenitse, yachmenye i rzhi.


I cannot eat anything that has been cooked in the same fryer as wheat-based items.
Мне нельзя есть то, что было приготовлено в той же посуде, в которой были приготовлены блюда с пшеницей.
Mne nelzya yest to shto bila prigatovlena v toy zhe pacude v katoray billi prigatovleni blyuda s pshenistey.


I cannot eat anything that's been breaded.
Я не могу есть ничего, что было в панировке.
YA ne magu yest' nichevo, shto bila v panirovke


If you are too lazy to learn these sentences or just don't want to, you could also print out these gluten-free restaurant cards and show them to the waiter/cook/host:

http://glutenfreepassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Russian-Chef-Translation-Cards-for-Gluten-Free-Dining.pdf

*She's a really good teacher and I would recommend her to anyone who needs private Russian lessons.
Her name is Alya and her phone number is +7 (926) 586-23-18

Introduction

Hi everyone!

So because I'm spending 6 months in Moscow and I've found that there is very little information about being gluten intolerant or celiac here (along with almost no specifically gluten-free products), I've decided to share my experience in the hope that it'll help others.

If you have tips or want to share something you've discovered about living gluten-free in Moscow, do share it! The aim of this blog is to provide mutual support for everyone in the same case as me.

A little bit about me:

My name is Astrid, I'm 21 years old, French and I'm on a 6 month internship in Moscow. I might be cheating a bit because my intolerance isn't like the typical celiac one and I can tolerate small amounts of wheat.
Also, my boyfriend lives in London and everytime we see each other he brings me gluten-free pasta... I know, I'm cheating...

But I still hope this will help some of you!

Love.

Astrid