items of interest

The name Buterbrodi means “butter and bread” in German. The idea of open-face sandwiches was imported to Russia, like so much else, by Peter the Great. Even though I haven’t lived in Moscow for well over a decade now, I can still sometimes be caught peeling off the top piece of bread from a store-bought sandwich and quietly discarding it. John lectures me on the refined glories of crustless, double-ply cucumber sandwiches, and reckons that my one-slice habit is probably the best way to spot an unassimilated Russian across a crowded room, but I won’t give in. I still think one piece of bread is better than two.

In Russia, buterbrodi are even more popular for breakfast or lunch than sandwiches are in the United States. And when cut into neat two-bite-size pieces, they are called buterbrodik (the diminutive) or canapé (from the French). These popular smaller relatives make great accompaniments for cocktails and often feature in the elaborate zakuska buffet. If you arrive unexpectedly at a Russian home, you would almost certainly be treated to buterbrodi in some form or another, often ingeniously concocted from scraps and leftovers, but always delicious and attractive. As the name suggests, bread and butter are the only prerequisites. In Russia pride of place in the hierarchy of sandwiches is of course accorded to a slice of freshly baked white bread, buttered then liberally piled with the best available black caviar. Even as recently as a decade ago, quality caviar was still not impossible to find for a normal family in Russia, though it has become more difficult and more expensive since then. I usually serve at least three or four different kinds of buterbrodi, arranged in an imaginative mosaic of colors and flavors. Favorite quick combinations include:

Cocktail rye with dill and lemon butter, topped with smoked salmon, capers, and a small dill sprig

White bread triangles with horseradish butter topped with smoked sturgeon or whitefish, a thin slice of lemon, and a small dill sprig

Buttered pumpernickel rounds topped with a slice of hard-cooked egg and an anchovy fillet

Buttered black bread, topped with a piece of herring fillet, chopped egg, and a cornichon

Buttered toast triangles topped with crab meat, shredded lettuce, and a dab of mayonnaise

Buttered cocktail rye topped with thinly sliced cucumbers and sprats

Buttered pumpernickel topped with chopped liver, chopped egg, and scallions

Buttered cocktail rye topped with chopped herring and a slice of apple

White bread with horseradish butter, topped with poached tongue and pickle slices

Cocktail rye bread with mustard butter, topped with ham and chopped parsley

Pumpernickel rounds with anchovy butter, topped with thinly sliced red radishes