WITNESS: Siberian pickled tomatoes blew my mind

Jackie Cowhig, Reuters coal correspondent for around 18 months, is based in London but has a global remit. Reporting on commodities for over 18 years, she has visited coal mines and ports around the world. In the following story, slugged she reports on a surprising meal in Siberia.

By Jacqueline Cowhig

KEMEROVO, Russia (Reuters) - I looked at the whiskered chops of the black-skinned, smoked Siberian catfish on my plate and it looked at me.

In Russia to visit mines in the heart of Siberia's coal industry, I'd been told the food would consist of doughy hunks of unidentifiable origin that leaked puddles of grease at the slightest pressure -- with cabbage, potatoes. And dill. On everything.

In the middle of a pine forest near Kemerovo, the Graal restaurant boasted that much of its food was "hand-made by babushki". This sounded too rustic to reassure me.

I squared up to the catfish: it was probably the ugliest creature I've seen on a plate.

To avoid offending my hosts, I was prepared to hide inedible food in my handbag.

But I was about to discover the peculiar pleasure of having horrible expectations reversed.

So happily surprised was I by the freshness, intense flavors, seasonal variety and sheer oddness of the Siberian appetizers that I wanted to say "hah!" very loudly.

I don't think it was just the vodka.

These zakuski, which without wishing to offend either culture are rather like Spanish tapas, included a host of Siberian specialties not found outside the region.

The fish was virtually boneless, almost meaty in texture, and luscious. Then there were razor-thin slivers of frozen raw nelma, a white salmon, dipped in salt and pepper and fishy in a taste-it-at-the-back-of-your-nose kind of way.

Rich, divine-smelling black rye bread with unsalted butter. Little fluffy pies stuffed with cheese or chopped egg or a mixture of minced meats were light and wonderful. And caviar. Naturally, lashings of Beluga caviar.

So good that over a few days I ate a quantity I'm ashamed to admit.

INTENSE JOY

But the taste that topped the lot was the pickled tomatoes, which made my brain ring like a bell.