Nadia’s Cheese Pies

This recipe comes from my dear friend Nadia Shokhen, whom I met in 1982. Nadia still remembers my first visit to the small apartment she rented illegally in Moscow, since she didn’t have a residence permit. The rent was high, her salary low, and, like many Russians in those years, she scraped by, supplementing her meager diet with foraged mushrooms and berries. Nadia was a kitchen alchemist, turning even bitter berries like kalina (guelder rose) and ryabina (mountain ash) into beautiful pre