Pushkinskie Gory, or the Pushkin Hills, are one of the most beautiful places in Pskov. It was here that the great poet Alexander Pushkin discovered the mysteries of the ancient way of life and got to know the peasants, later going on to populate his works with them. He was often invited to the villages and seated at the table, being treated as a treasured guest. Host Yekaterina Chunkova has visited renowned Pushkin sites and, like the poet before her, got to know peasant cuisine, learning to prepare several dishes in an authentic Russian stove.   Recipe «Onion soup» Recipe «Baked pike perch»   Recipe «Peasant starter»   Recipe «Russian potato»   Recipe «Squash pancakes»   Onion soup recipe serves 3 persons; preparation and cooking time ~ 30 minutes Ingredients: 5 potatoes, 2 white onions, salt, bay leaves, 150 g. salted pork salo. Directions: Cube the potatoes into large pieces. Fill an iron pot with water and add the potato and salt. Put over the fire (or in the cooker). When the potato is cooked, mash it and put it back into the pot with the broth. Cut the salo into long strips and put them in the fire so they melt. Finely chop the onion and put it into the soup. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the pork rinds to the dish before serving. Baked pike perch recipe serves 3 persons; preparation and cooking time ~ 60 minutes Ingredients: 1 medium-sized whole pike perch, 1 white onion, sunflower oil. Ingredients for the sauce: 2 eggs, several spoonfuls of sour cream, 1 tsp. horseradish. Directions: Scale and gut the fish, removing all of the bones. Cut into portion-sized pieces. Cut the onion into rings and put in a frying pan with the oil. Place the fish on top. To make the sauce, beat the eggs and mix in the sour cream and horseradish. Evenly drizzle the sauce over the fish and put everything over the fire (or in the cooker). Bake until the fish is done and the sauce has turned brown. Peasant starter recipe serves 3 persons; preparation and cooking time ~ 30 minutes Ingredients: salted salo, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, carrot, sugar, salt, vinegar. ***Use as much or as little of each vegetable as you want***. Directions: Cut the salo into strips. Finely chop the cabbage and grate the carrot so the pieces are still relatively large. Mix together. Add a generous amount of salt and drizzle on the vinegar. Mix and knead everything together by hand until you see that the vegetables are releasing juices. Then leave them to stand in a cool place for 15-20 minutes. Cut the cucumbers and tomatoes into quarters and set on a plate with the cabbage and salo. Russian potato recipe serves 3 persons; preparation and cooking time ~ 50 minutes Ingredients: 1-2 potatoes, 300 g. steamed pork, 1 white onion, 1-2 carrots, spices. Directions: Peel and cut the vegetables into large pieces. Cut the meat so that it is in about the same-sized chunks as the vegetables. Pour a little water into the iron saucepan and add the potato as the first layer, with a layer of the meat in the middle and the onion and carrot on top. Add spices and a little more water. Mix everything together and let simmer on the fire (or in the cooker) for 30-40 minutes. Squash pancakes recipe serves 3 persons; preparation and cooking time ~ 20 minutes Ingredients: 1 squash, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 3 tbsp. flour, 1-2 tbsp. sour cream, 2 eggs. Directions: Peel the squash and remove the seeds. Grate on a large grater. Add the eggs, sugar and salt. Mix. Then add the flour and sour cream and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Ladle pancake-sized portions onto a heated frying pan and cook on both sides until brown.