Better than Ukrainian food can be only Ukrainian ladies
So you are finally planning to come to Ukraine and you wondering what to expect from Ukrainian culture, from your Ukrainian girlfriend…No need to wonder about it… We will give you an idea of Ukrainian culture by telling you about the most popular Ukrainian dishes that your girlfriend can cook for you ( Yes, every girl in Ukraine can cook!!) or that you can taste in any local restaurant and you simply HAVE to try them while in Ukraine!!
The best example of Ukrainian cuisine is “borsch”. Borsch is a beet-based soup that can contain as many as 20 different ingredients and depending on the region and season you can enjoy red or green borsch – red one being the most popular one.
INGREDIENTS
400g beef
2 average red beets
200g cabbage
4 little potatoes
1 carrot
2 onions
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
parsley
dill
spring onions
- Put beef into a large saucepan and cover with 3 liters of cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Remove the grease froth from the broth surface with a spoon. Add one onion. Cook at low heat for 1-2 hours.
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Melt 1 Tbls. margarine in a saucepan. Cut red beets into thin sticks and add them into the cooking pot. Add tomato paste or sliced tomatoes. Simmer at low heat for 1 hour. If there is not enough liquid, add some broth.
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Melt 1 Tbls. margarine in a frying pan. Add chopped onions and carrots that are cut into thin sticks. Cover and sauté for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Heat broth to boiling. Add chopped cabbage and potatoes that are cut into bars. Cook for 5 minutes. Add sauté and cook another 10 minutes. Add simmered red beets. Cook another 5 minutes. Add salt and black pepper.
- Enjoy it with someone you love! And remember that borsch is usually served with sour cream.
Potatoes are used in Ukraine as often as rice is in Japan. Popular dishes on the Ukrainian table are mashed potatoes and “deruny”. “Deruny” are potato pancakes that are easy to cook, very nourishing and tasty. You can eat them either hot or cold. And because they are so easy to make you can surprise your Ukrainian girlfriend buy cooking them for her!! Potato puree is another dish that is easy to make and that is served as a favorite background for various delicacies and meat dishes.
INGREDIENTS
3 Large potatoes
1 or 2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tblsp. grated onion
2 tblsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
few grains of pepper
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1) Peel, wash and grate potatoes on a fine grater and pour off some of the potato water. Add all of the ingredients and mix them thoroughly. Drop the mixture with a spoon in small rounds about the size of small pancakes onto a hot, well greased frying pan. Bake over a moderate heat about five minutes on each side, or until they are well browned and tender. Serve very hot with sour cream in bed for breakfast after a hot night with your girlfriend. 
“Holubtsi”, or cabbage rolls, are one of the favorite Ukrainian meat dishes. They are mainly filled with pork and a small amount of rice. The “holubtsi” are placed in a large pot, covered with tomato soup or sauce and baked. A stuffed pepper which is made on the same meat base is a very popular dish as well.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE FILLING
1/2 lb of cooked ground beef or pork
2 cups rice
2 cups or less of boiling water
1 medium onion diced
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 tablespoons butter or other type of fat
salt and pepper
FOR THE HOLUBTSI
1 large cabbage head
1) Add the rice to the boiling water. Stir in the salt. Bring it to a boil again and let it cook for one minute. Cover, lower the heat and allow it to stand long enough to absorb the water. The rice is only partially cooked at this point since it will finish cooking in the holubtsi.
2) Cook the onion in the fat until it is slightly golden. Mix with the cooked ground beef or pork and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Season well because the cabbage leaves will absorb some of the taste. Cool until ready to use.
Sauce:
1 large can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste to thicken sauce (if needed)
2 tablespoons or more of butter or bacon fat
salt and pepper
1) Remove the core from the head of the cabbage by cutting around it with a sharp knife.
2) Place the head of cabbage upside down in a large pot and pour boiling water into where the core was. Cover the head completely.
3) Let it stand until the leaves are soft and easily removable. Drain and remove the leaves from the head very carefully. Do not tear them! Cut off some of the hard center rib of each leaf without removing it from the leaf.
4) Cut the largest leaves into two or three sections and line the bottom of a large pot with them.
5) Place a generous spoonful of the meat and rice filling on the end of one leaf and roll lightly. Tuck in the ends.
6) Place the completed rolls in layers in the pot and sprinkle with some sauce and some salt, but do not add too much. Combine the fat with the sauce first. The liquid should barely fill the gaps between each holubets.
7) Protect the last layers from burning by covering it with a few large leaves.
The country’s reputation as the “breadbasket of Europe” is well deserved and therefore the dishes from wheat flour have a great importance. “Varenyky” are dough pockets filled with either potato, or potato and cheddar cheese, or cabbage, or cottage cheese, or cherries, or generally anything. Ukrainian “varenyky” are boiled and resemble to various degrees Polish “pierogi”, Russian “pilmeni”, Italian “ravioli”, Jewish “kreplach”, or Chinese “gyoza”. “Varenyky” are very often served with sour cream.
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
Mix 4 cups flour with 2 tsp. salt. Add 2 eggs and 1 1/3 cup of cool water. Knead lightly and cover with a kitchen towel. Place aside.
Fillings:
Potato
Mash 8 large cooked potatoes. Add 2 large chopped onions, which have been sauteed in butter or vegetable oil. Season with pepper and salt.
Sauerkraut
Rinse off 3 lbs. of sauerkraut with hot water to remove the salt. rinse with cold water and squeeze till dry. Chop very fine. Sautee 2 large onions in butter or vegetable oil and add the sauerkraut. Sautee in a covered pan for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Let cool.
Mushroom
1 finely chopped small mild onion
2 to 3 tbs. butter
2 cups chopped cooked mushrooms
2 egg yokes
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the onion along with the butter until it is opaque and tender. Add in the mushrooms and cook together for about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the stove and beat in the egg yolks. Cool the mixture thoroughly before filling the varenyky. Chopped dill may also be added for some extra flavor if desired.
Meat
2 cups ground meat
1 tbs. grated onion
2 tbs. butter
salt and pepper to taste
brown mushroom gravy or cream sauce
1 beaten egg yoke
This is a recipe that best utilizes leftover meat from the previous day. Prepare the meat by grinding it. Cook the onion in the butter until it is soft and tender, and add it to the meat. Moisten (but do not drown) the mixture with the gravy or cream sauce or the egg yolk, and add salt and pepper to taste. Once the mixture has cooled, fill the varenyky with it. Chopped dill can also be added here if desired.
To Form the Varenyky:
1) Roll the dough thin. Cut rounds with a cookie cutter or the open side of a water glass.
2) Holding the round in your hand, place a spoonful of the filling in the center and fold in half.
3) Press the edges to seal.
4) Lay on a dry kitchen towel and cover.
Cooking the Varenyky:
1) Boil a large pot of water and drop them in a few at a time.
2) Boil rapidly for about 4 minutes. (they should have risen to the top).
3) Place them into a colander and rinse with hot water and drain
4) Place onto a plate and coat with either melted butter, sautéed onions with bacon, or a dollop of sour cream on the side.
5) Invite your beloved for dinner and ENJOY!!!!!
While in Ukraine, make sure you taste all the dishes we have mentioned here and you will get one more reason for marrying a UKRAINIAN lady! Or you might even decide to cook it yourself following one of our recipes! In any case, ENJOY YOUR MEAL!
