Lenten Beef

The Russian realist writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791-1859) is best known for his autobiographical trilogy, A Family Chronicle, Childhood Years of a Bagrov Grandson, and Memoir, books that vividly depict life among the nineteenth-century nobility. Although Aksakov is not as widely read today, in his time he garnered much praise. The critic D.S. Mirsky considered Aksakov’s evocative language to have “a beautiful Russian purity and an air of distinction and unaffected grace that gives it a fair chance of being recognized as the best, the standard, Russian prose.” Similar superlatives were attached to Aksakov’s other writings, particularly those focused on his passion for the hunt: Notes on Fishing, Notes of an Orenburg-Province Hunter, and A Sportsman’s Stories and Memoirs on Various Kinds of Sport. These books combine practical advice with lovely meditations on nature. After reading Notes on Fishing, none other than Nikolai Gogol wrote to Aksakov: “Your birds and fishes are more alive than my men and women.” High praise, indeed!

In fact, Notes on Fishing was Aksakov’s first book. It was also Russia’s first treatise on fishing (English-language readers had already been enjoying Isaak Walton’s Compleat Angler for two centuries). In his book, Aksakov shared not only his observations on technical aspects of fishing but also his love of the Russian countryside. He was, however, forced to publish the book without his chosen epigraph, words that perfectly conveyed his sense of release in nature: “I venture into nature’s world,/The world of serenity and freedom.” The censors deemed the mention of freedom too subversive, and only in the book’s third edition (1854) did the epigraph finally appear. 

Aksakov fished in rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, at each site intently observing the world around him. His entries on individual species of fish provide lessons in etymology, botany, biology, behavior (both human and piscine), and gastronomy. Even with his keen eye for nature, Aksakov did not ignore the culinary dimension of fish. He notes whether a fish makes for good eating, what time of year it tastes best (fish often taste muddy in summer; and sluggishness coarsens their flavor), how difficult they are to prepare, how bony they are, how best to cook them. 

Following are Aksakov’s thoughts on zander, otherwise known as pike-perch, a European freshwater fish of which I happen to be inordinately fond. This translation is from Thomas P. Hodge’s excellent English edition of Aksakov’s Notes on Fishing, published by Northwestern University Press.

I’m even less well acquainted as a fisherman with this superb table-fish, but I know that he takes on rod and line. Zander grow to enormous size, weighing up to eighteen pounds and more. They live in large rivers and flowing lakes and ponds, but they prefer the fresh, swift water of the river. The zander has a long, extended mouth, and teeth that are sparse but thick and strong. His tongue is fairly large, which, in my opinion, gives him the right to be counted as a kind of trout. In form he’s bar-shaped and similar to, but somewhat wider than, the pike. The lower half of his body and his belly are silvery-white, while his back and the upper halves of his sides are grayish. Banding the length of his entire body are twelve faint stripes of a faded dark-blue color. His eyes are fairly large and yellowish, with dark pupils. In rivers where there are many zander, they take avidly on outfits baited with small fish. The zander, obviously, is a predatory fish. Like the pike, he’s caught on trimmers and boulters, but predominantly at night, from spring until the middle of summer. Live zander that haven’t been exhausted by long confinement in slit-pens make a tasty and nourishing dish. They’re essential to a fine repast, and as a result zander are sometimes very expensive. On the other hand, frozen zander are carted to Moscow and its vicinity in such abundance that by the end of winter they’re very inexpensive, that is, about one ruble in assignats for six pounds. For people observing the fast, this is a precious fish: the meat is tasty even when refrozen, nutritious, not bony, goes well with everything, does not pall upon its eaters, and is inexpensive. In a word, zander is Lenten beef.

Vyalenaya ryba 

(Dried Fish)

Even though zander does not swim in North American waters, any small freshwater fish can be substituted to make this Russian delicacy. Unlike cod, the fish is not dried rock-hard. Instead, it is dried only lightly in the sun or at room temperature so that it still retains some moisture. With boiled potatoes and beer or kvass, vyalenaya ryba captures the essence of the Russian Indian summer.

For every 2 pounds of very fresh fish (cleaned and gutted):

3 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Rub the salt and sugar all over the fish, both inside and out. Place in a pan and let stand for four days at cool room temperature.

Rinse the fish lightly, then hang it to dry for 2 or 3 days, until it is firm to the touch (test for firmness by pressing the flesh with your fingers). The fish will have the best flavor if it is hung to dry in the sun, but if the weather is rainy or cold the fish may be wrapped loosely in cheesecloth and set in a windowsill or on a radiator to dry. Turn the fish occasionally to allow air to circulate. 

To serve, cut the fish into long, diagonal slices about 1 inch thick. Store any leftover fish in the refrigerator.

One 2-pound fish will serve 4.