In our household, December meals are not usually vegetarian. But this year I included a dinner of Crispy Potato Pancakes with roasted carrots, labneh, and hot honey, inspired by Samin Nosrat’s recent podcast of Home Cooking, where she answered a question from a listener seeking advice on how to use four gallons of honey. Samin, a honey enthusiast, excitedly […]
Crispy Potato Pancakes — a New Twist on an Old Classic Read More »
This elegant Poppy Seed Coconut Cherry Cake is a perfect holiday dessert for a large gathering. Poppy seed and coconut layers filled with cherry-flavored pastry cream and cherries, topped with chocolate glaze, are worthy of celebration. This creation is based on plyatsok, a sweet pastry beloved in Western Ukraine. What is a plyatsok? Plyatsok (plyatsky,
Poppy Seed Coconut Cherry Cake –A five-layer plyatsok from Ukraine Read More »
Fish soup, called yushka or ukha (юшка or уха), is a classic dish, popular throughout Ukraine. This Black Sea Fish Soup, called Chornomorska (Black Sea) yushka, a version prepared along Ukraine’s southern shore where saltwater fish are abundant, can be easily prepared anywhere where fresh saltwater fish are available. Yushka is one of the oldest
Black Sea Fish Soup with Spicy Sauce -Chornomorska Yushka with Salamur Read More »
This Chocolate Mocha Karpatka is my adaptation of a Polish cake that became popular in western Ukraine during the final decades of the 20th century. The original Karpatka is made from choux pastry with a vanilla crème pâtissière filling. My version flavors the cream puff dough with chocolate and the filling with coffee, a delightful
Chocolate Mocha Karpatka Read More »
This Pumpkin Noodle Babka is my recreation of a fall dish Babunia, my Ukrainian maternal grandmother Julianna Bulawka, improvised for Didunio, my grandfather Vasyl Bulawka. It unites sweet cheese, sour cream custard with egg noodles and pumpkin, Ukraine’s favorite fall ingredient, in a noodle bake (she called harbuzova babka* or kugel (гарбузова бабка or куґель)
Pumpkin Noodle Babka or Kugel Read More »
Ukrainians love soup — hot, cold, meat or vegetable-based. It’s served daily in homes and restaurants regardless of season. Borshch, the quintessential Ukrainian soup, is a culinary staple recognized worldwide and inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2022. While borshch is consumed year-round, cooler weather restores the taste for
Kapusnyak – Ukrainian Sauerkraut soup Read More »
I first encountered this Poured-Crust Cabbage Pie at a picnic on the eve of Ivana Kupala, Ukraine’s midsummer celebration. Its thin crust enveloped a savory mixture of shredded young cabbage, other vegetables and spices. It was perfect picnic food: fresh, flavorful, easy to eat out of hand on a magical midsummer evening, leaving a lasting
Poured-Crust Cabbage Pie — and How Ukrainians Celebrate Midsummer Read More »
When I was a kid, rhubarb dishes appeared on our family menu each May, confirming unequivocally that spring had finally arrived. Seeing a basket of bright red rhubarb at the local market enticed me to try this Rhubarb Tart with Crème Anglaise recipe that I’ve saved just for this occasion. Rhubarb is a perennial plant
Rhubarb Tart with Crème Anglaise Read More »
These Carrot Oladky (morkvyani oladky – морквяні оладки in Ukrainian) are one of many dairy-based dishes eaten during Masnytsia or Syrny Tyzhden (translated as Butter Week or Cheese Week). Masnytsia is Ukrainian carnivale which takes place a week before the start of Lent, which often occurs at the end of February or in the first
Carrot Oladky – Tender Carrot Pancakes from Ukraine Read More »
This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is my twist on the traditional Ukrainian Napoleon. In my childhood, Napoleon Torte was the epitome of a fancy dessert made only for special occasions by my aunt Titka Maria or Mama. Years later, when I began working in Ukraine, I learned this torte was adored by other Ukrainians and prepared
Pistachio Napoleon Torte – a Twist on a Ukrainian Classic Read More »