Meatballs Pozharski - A Culinary Masterpiece With A Russian Flavor

Video: Meatballs Pozharski - A Culinary Masterpiece With A Russian Flavor

Video: Meatballs Pozharski - A Culinary Masterpiece With A Russian Flavor
Video: Тефтели в томатном соусе (Tefteli) - Russian Food - Тефтели в томатном соусе 2024, November
Meatballs Pozharski - A Culinary Masterpiece With A Russian Flavor
Meatballs Pozharski - A Culinary Masterpiece With A Russian Flavor
Anonim

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the delicious fried meatballs, also known as Pozharski, became especially popular in Europe. There are several versions of the origin of this dish and in all of them the main protagonist is the Russian Emperor Alexander I.

One of the stories tells how during one of the walks in the vicinity of St. Petersburg the emperor's chariot broke. He and his entourage are forced to wait in the nearby town of Torzhok in the inn of the former coachman Pozharski. One of the emperor's wishes was to eat beef meatballs. Unfortunately, the innkeeper did not have the requested meat, and the adjutant general did not want to hear a negative answer.

The worried owner decided to cheat to get out of the situation and made chicken meatballs. Fortunately for him and to his surprise, Alexander I liked them very much, who ordered the dish to be prepared in his kitchen as well. And the lucky innkeeper received a proper reward.

It is also said that he and his daughter received the ability to prepare delicious Pozharsky meatballs from a Frenchman who stayed in their inn, but could not pay for his stay and food. To thank him for his hospitality, he gave the recipe for chicken meatballs made at his home near the Seine.

Later, the innkeeper expanded his business and placed an inscription above the entrance of his inn, Pozharski, a supplier to His Imperial Majesty's court. Later, in 1811, he built a hotel with a restaurant, where he offered his meatballs. It has become a tradition for the guests of the capital to visit its restaurant to try the famous ones Fire meatballs.

Chicken mince
Chicken mince

Not only Russian guests but also foreign travelers were impressed by their taste. The German Hahern, who then accompanied Prince Alexander of Orange during his 1839 tour of Russia, recounts in his writings: We had breakfast in the small town of Torzhok, which made a pleasant impression on an innkeeper famous for her meatballs. Her reputation is well deserved.

Whatever the true story of the appearance of this dish, we can not fail to note the fact that they are one of the few dishes sung in poetic stanzas by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin himself. According to his researchers-biographers, he repeatedly traveled on the route St. Petersburg-Moscow and stopped in the towns of Torzhok. Staying in the famous inn, he tried the famous meatballs, and they, in turn, became the inspiration for a poem intended for his good friend Sergei Sobolevsky.

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