In the Lenten menu of the Beluga restaurant, Roman Chistov and Nikita Gavrilenko give new expression (and visual presentation) to familiar ingredients and find less-than-obvious combinations.
Lenten menus will appear in most restaurants starting February 23. Some guests observe Lent for religious reasons, others seek lightness in dishes and give up animal products as spring approaches, while some are in search of unusual plant-based combinations for new experiences. In Beluga's Lenten menu, each of them will find something for themselves.
Roman Chistov, chef of the Beluga restaurant, has conceived an incredibly beautiful vinaigrette in which a filling of baked potato, sauerkraut, and green peas with aromatic oil is wrapped in blanched Brussels sprout leaves, complemented by pickled gooseberries, fermented beet juice jelly, and roasted purple carrot.
Roman serves salted and pickled mushrooms in a salad with fried potatoes, steamed couscous, onion dressing, and marinated cherry tomatoes. He also fries radishes in coconut oil with Crimean onion and pairs them with Lenten sour cream and spicy herbs.
Parsnip here is baked and served with celery cream and ribbons of pumpkin marinated in mandarin juice. Dumplings filled with plant-based meat are steamed and, when served, accompanied by a sauce made from almond milk, spices, and dried lavender, as well as grainy mustard and airy buckwheat.
Despite the unconventional combinations, the flavors of the dishes remain recognizable and accessible even to the most inexperienced guest.
For the Lenten dessert, Beluga's pastry chef Nikita Gavrilenko has preserved feijoa cores in season, which he now serves with a tarragon sauce, a cream based on lemongrass and verbena leaves, and an apple-feijoa fruit ice.
The Lenten menu is available at Beluga restaurant from February 23 to April 11.