A Spotlight on Ukrainian Cuisine

Sour Cherries, Cabbage & Sour Cream, So Much to Love! - Friday Food Chat with Kath

We are fortunate to have a few cookbooks focusing on Eastern European food being released lately. Ukrainian cuisine in particular is finally becoming more well known.

A few weekends ago I attended a cooking class with

Anastasia Zolotarev

(author of newly released Sour Cherries and Sunflowers cookbook) focusing on making varenyky, Ukrainian dumplings (pictured above). The dough was made with kefir, though there was a dairy free option too. They were filled with either mushroom, potato, or a cabbage centric veggie filling, all served with caramelised onion and sour cream. They were delicious, and Anastasia sent us all home with more to freeze for later.

We also tried sour cherry kompot, kind of like a Ukrainian version of fruit cordial, along with a few more recipes from Anastasia’s new book. I enjoyed everything we ate, and the class gave me greater insight into the recipes in Sour Cherries and Sunflowers, and highlighted those I might not have initially thought to try but now know I must.

Varenyky from Sour Cherries and Sunflowers

The next weekend a friend and I met for lunch at Kyiv Social in Sydney, a Ukrainian social enterprise restaurant, and the menu was filled with things I recognised from Anastasia’s class, and the recipes I’ve seen in newly released Eastern European cookbooks. We tried holubtsi (cabbage rolls) something I might not have tried in the past, and loved them. We also got Kyiv Social’s version of both savoury and sweet varenyky, plus a few more things which were all absolutely delicious. The service was great at Kyiv Social, and I highly recommend visiting if you can.

Kyiv Social

So in the space of less than a month, I’ve tried and made more Ukrainian dishes than I had in my life before that! Discovering new (to me) foods and recipes is something I continue to enjoy, especially when it comes with tips, tricks and that personal connection that comes with a well written cookbook and the opportunity to spend time learning in person.

All of this is to say, if have the opportunity, go to the cooking class, try a different restaurant, buy or borrow a book on a cuisine you don’t know much about. As I’ve found, you might come away with some new favourite recipes and plans to buy new ingredients to make things you never considered - I’ve bought rye flour for the first time, and finally bought the kilo bag of frozen blackcurrants I’d seen at the green grocer for years.

I now have blackcurrant and apple kompot in the fridge and leftovers of an apple, pear and blackcurrant crumble to enjoy. With lots more recipes to try, and some of my own that are brewing in the back of my mind, inspired by my belated foray into Ukrainian cuisine.

Check out more recipes over on the paid version of this newsletter featuring, A Ginger Sponge Cake, A Festive Boiled Fruit Cake and A Caramel Ginger Pudding. See the whole archive here and sign up to support my work and get it all straight to your inbox or Substack feed!

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Honey Jumbles

My version of the classic Australian biscuit, probably not terribly traditional, but definitely very good!

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