The tables are turning

By zastolye (which roughly translates as "at the table") we mean not only what is on the table but also what is happening around it, in short — the entire festive dinner sequence.

The revolution of 1917 and subsequent decades of Communist rule have changed forever the look and taste of Russia — and if today one is to inquire about some­thing traditionally Russian, chances are that it would be a thing essentially Sovi­et. So is the traditional Russian zastolye, that table­ful which brings together families and friends. Forget the old, pre-revolution Russia: those dishes are like­ly to be found only in those select establishments that provide authentic Russian cuisine, and then again it most likely won't be a proper zastolye.

So off we go to the Soviet zastolye, still the table­ful of choice in Russia in spite of the obvious differ­ences brought about by post-Soviet changes. That, as said, is a festive event, requiring an official holi­day, a gathering of friends or a family celebration to happen. The very first thing that strikes a Western­er is that Russians rarely serve cocktails or any pre-dinner drinks, to that effect: the guests are all sat at a table almost as soon as they arrive. And that al­so constitutes one fundamental difference as com­pared to pre-1917 Russia where dinner commonly in­volved a special buffet consisting of appetizers and various strong drinks such as vodka and liquors; all these were consumed while standing around a small table and before the actual dinner would start. Sec­ondly, the Russians of today rarely differentiate be­tween the various types of drinks — the festive table features an array of bottles and each zastolye partici­pant may drink whatever he or she likes, be it vodka, wine, soft drinks or even long drinks such as whisky and cognac. And, they toast. Each shot or gulp is ac­companied by a toast, proclaimed by a self-appoint­ed zastolye leader — and upon hearing each toast, the guests clang their glasses together. More often than not, they drink to hail the house and its owners, they raise toasts to praise "our women" and "our chil­dren", they drink "to the fact that we have assembled here and shall do so in the future", they may toast the health of each and every guest and so on, and so on. As to what is on the table, the array (in spite of all the diversity available in present-day Russia) curious­ly recalls the sparsity of the Soviet times, with the initial serving consisting of several types of smoked or salted fish, marinated or salted pickles, perhaps some olives and the inevitable salads — the so-called zakuski or appetizers. The salads might include the sea­sonal salad, say sliced tomatoes, onions and cu­cumbers spiced with vegetable oil, salt and pepper; the cabbage salad made of sliced cabbage and on­ions; that or other form of chicken or tuna salad; eggs stuffed with a mixture of yolk and cheese or fish and, last but not least, the famous Olivier salad — known the world over as the "Russian salad". Invented long ago by a French cook employed by one of the. Russian nobles, that particular salad has become an inescap­able part of any proper Soviet and modern Russian zastolye. The masterpiece consists of boiled pota­toes, hard-boiled eggs, pickles, peas, onions and a few kinds of boiled meat or sausage, all sliced and mixed together with a large dose of mayonnaise sauce. Sad­ly enough, many Russians who have little knowl­edge of cooking would use ready-made mayonnaise sauce for their Olivier and would generally use copi­ous quantities of mayonnaise in other dishes, much to the dismay of true connoisseurs. The more aspir­ing cooks may also offer hot salads and such complex dishes as kholodets or aspic which — let it be not­ed — takes hours to prepare. But we are forgetting another feature of our serving, the tiny caviar sand­wiches, another relic of the times when caviar was extremely difficult to purchase. The second serving is the main course: steaks, stuffed chicken, roast meat and the like accompanied by boiled potatoes or rice. Very often most of the zakuski stay on the table; as the atmosphere becomes more lively the guests' plates turn into a mishmash of cold appetizers and hot dish pieces, all consumed simultaneously. However, in some of the more advanced cities and circles this old way of making merry around the table is giving way to the more formal and well-tempered dinners: for instance, just one perfectly chosen salad, spaghetti and French wine, cheese and coffee.

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