What exactly do the Russians call ‘julienne’? (RECIPE)

Aug 26 2020

Julienne is now a standard appetizer on the menu of any Russian restaurant around the world.

Yulia Mulino

There was a time when French cultural and gastronomical tastes had a huge influence on Russian civilization, especially in food and fine dining. As far as “julienne” is concerned, however, only the word was borrowed and not the recipe itself. Let’s see how to cook this dish that’s worth being compared with the best in European culinary traditions.

The whole world knows julienne as the way to chop vegetables in thin slices. It’s said that in early 20th century Russia a sumptuous dish appeared that consisted of mushrooms and cream, and it somehow inherited the julienne name. In fact, the ingredients are cut à lajulienne. However, it took too much space to write "mushrooms à la julienne" on the menu. Moreover, restaurant owners found this French word more attractive for their guests. If you ask a Russian what julienne is, then most likely you will hear that it’s a warm, mushroom-based starter.

Yulia Mulino

Traditionally, julienne contains simple farmed mushrooms and béchamel sauce. However, high fat content sour cream is more often used nowadays. Today, I will offer you a superior variation of this dish using porcini mushrooms, served festively in puff pastry cups.

A few words about the porcini. They are considered to be noble mushrooms due to their wonderful taste and nutritional qualities. Following our family tradition, I used to collect porcini in the forest when I lived in Russia. While they aren’t so common in Europe, they are available in supermarkets. Why porcini? They give a special soft texture to the julienne that goes nicely with a crunchy cheese crust. In Russia, julienne is usually served in small aluminum ramekins, but we’ll cook it in puff cups that can be found in any store.