Pelmeni with pike and foie gras from a Russian Michelin-starred chef (RECIPE)

At the age of 33, Evgeny Vikentiev became the youngest recipient of a Michelin star in Russia (2021). He combines familiar tastes in a meaningful way, creating dishes that are bright in terms of both color and presentation. He calls his style "modern intellectual cuisine".

Vikentiev had internship experience in European restaurants and worked as a chef at Cell restaurant in Berlin.

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Evgeny trained with celebrity chefs Albert Adria (41° Experience, Barcelona, ​​Spain) and Giuseppe Ricchebuono (Il Vescovado, Noli, Italy), before running several restaurants in St Petersburg. Since 2020, he has headed the kitchen of the Beluga restaurant, serving Russian delicacies on the second floor of the National Hotel opposite the Kremlin, famous for its caviar (over 20 sorts!) and Russian fish dishes in multiple interpretations.

Beluga restaurant.

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The chef explains that he finds inspiration in art and travel, as well as in the culinary creations of colleagues from across the globe. "I like the new school, such as the restaurants Ernst and Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin, and Ikoyi London and Maos in London. From my most recent gastronomic trip abroad, I loved Peru, especially the Central and Merito restaurants in Lima," says Vikentiev.

The dishes in the "New Delicacies Theory" set are: 1) Kalkan fish varenik with Russian 'banya' flavor; 2) Gingerbread oladyi with ashberry and carrot fraiche.

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In Russian cuisine, he loves all kinds of dishes: "There aren’t really any I don’t like. I simply adore pelmeni – an iconic Russian dish that’s really convenient to eat. You only need a spoon."

He shared with us a novel recipe for pelmeni with pike and foie gras. Let's try to recreate it. 

Smoked pike and foie gras pelmeni with hay and mushroom broth

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Preparation:

Ingredients for 1 serving

Mix smoked pike (12 g) and foie gras (6 g) for the filling. Take dough for gyoza (10 g), cut circles for pelmeni with a glass, lay the filling in the middle, pinch the edges. Steam for 6 minutes. Can be frozen if necessary.

Serving:

Serve the pelmeni (5 pcs) on a plate with citrus sour cream and violet flowers (one per piece) and pike caviar (25 g). Serve the “forest” broth (50 ml) in a jug.

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How to prepare:

For 5 servings of 5 pelmeni

Forest broth 250 ml:

Bake hay (4 g) in the oven until golden brown. Soak dried mushrooms (50 g), pour over cold water (500 ml), add salt (1 g), hondashi fish broth (1 g) and xanthan (1 g), bring to a boil. After boiling, let stand at 80°C for 2 hours, then strain and wring the hay. Heat again, add the hay for 15 minutes. Strain.

Citrus sour cream 300 g:

Mix 15%-fat sour cream (260 g), lemon oil (50 g), salt (1 g), lemon juice (7 ml). Leave overnight, then strain.

Smoked pike 300 g:

Salt pike (400 g) for 2 hours, add salt and sugar (6 g of each), rinse and smoke. Cool and remove all bones.

Foie gras terrine 150 g:

Remove capillaries from liver (170 g), add salt and sugar (3 g of each), Martini (7 ml). Beat all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, run through a fine sieve, pour over the pelmeni.

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