The Russian meal unfolds in waves. First, the zakuski (cold, salty appetizers that accompany rounds of drinks); then the pervoyye blyudo, the "first course," always a hot soup served with sour cream; next, the vtoroye, the "second course," a hearty main dish; and finally, tea from the samovar, accompanied by sweets. A homemade fermented drink, kvass, circulates throughout. Nothing is compartmentalized as in France: you share, you refill, you toast.

Thick sour cream (smetana) and fresh dill are the soul of Russian cuisine: you drizzle it over soup, stuff it into dumplings, sprinkle it on everything. Combined with the art of fermentation (kvass, lacto-fermented vegetables), they provide that fresh acidity that enlivens the fatty dishes of the long Ural winters.