Ukrainian cuisine is rich and generous.The country's vast territory has allowed the development of a cuisine that includes a wide variety of products, from temperate zone vegetables to subtropical fruits, from sea fish and seafood to wild game. Ukrainian cuisine recipes are usually not complicated. And the dishes are hearty, thick, rich and fatty, consisting of many ingredients. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to lose weight on such a diet. But for cold winter days, Ukrainian cuisine recipes are just right.
Borsch Kiev
Borscht is the calling card of Ukraine.There are as many recipes for making borscht as there are housewives. But the main ingredients are still the same: beets, potatoes, tomatoes. Borscht can be red, yellow, green. Meat and lean. But it must be delicious! Ingredients:
- For 200 g of beef and lamb (pork)
- 400 g fresh cabbage
- 2 medium potatoes
- 2 medium beets
- 2 tablespoons white beans
- 2 sour apples
- 1 onion
- Carrots, parsley root, celery root
- 0.5 liters of beet kvass
- 0.5 cups of tomato juice or pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped lard
- Sweet pepper, bay leaves, parsley greens
Preparation:Soak the beans the day before and boil until tender. Make a broth from the beef. Strain the finished broth and cut the meat into portions. Peel and dice the potatoes. Chop the cabbage. Peel the tomatoes, chop and sauté in oil until soft, then rub through a sieve. Peel and cut the beets into strips. Finely chop the lamb (brisket) and fry in a frying pan. When the fat has melted, put the beets in the frying pan and simmer until soft, adding strained broth if necessary. Chop the root vegetables and onions and fry a little in vegetable oil. Mash the lard with parsley. Finely chop the apples. Put the potatoes and cabbage in the strained broth and cook for about 10 minutes. Next, add beets with lamb, fried root vegetables, onions, tomatoes, apples, cooked beans and lard. Pour in the beet kvass. Bring the broth to a boil, add spices and cook over low heat until the cabbage and potatoes are ready. Serve the finished borscht hot, putting the meat in plates, adding sour cream and parsley.
Beet Kvass
Kvass is an ancient drink loved by everyoneSlavs, and is known not only in Ukrainian cuisine. Beet kvass is not as famous today as bread kvass, but in vain. It is the best remedy for treating hypertension and for cleansing the body. And besides, it gives a special flavor to red borscht. It is easy to prepare beet kvass. Ingredients:
- Fresh beet - 1-2 pcs.
- Water - about 3 liters
- A crust of rye bread
- 3-liter can
Preparation:Wash, peel and cut the beets into small pieces. Place them on the bottom of a glass jar (about 1/4 of the volume or more). Pour in cooled boiled water, add the bread crust (it will speed up the fermentation process). Leave in a dark, cool place to ferment. When the kvass begins to ferment, the crust must be removed, and you can start drinking the kvass. Or use it to make borscht and summer okroshka. As you use the kvass, you can add water to the jar until the color of the drink remains saturated.
Potato headstock with mushrooms
Potatoes are another traditional product, without which Ukrainian cuisine would be completely different. One of the ways to cook potatoes is potato babki. Ingredients:
- Potatoes - 500 g
- Dried mushrooms - 50 (or 200 g fresh)
- Dry wheat bread (you can take breadcrumbs) - 100 g
- Onion - 2 pcs.
- Egg - 1 pc.
- Butter or fat
- Black pepper, green parsley
For the gravy:
- Mushroom broth or broth - 150 ml.
- Bulb - 1 pc.
- Wheat flour - 1 tbsp.
- Butter - 2 tbsp.
- Tomato paste or sauce - 2 tbsp.
- Sour cream - ¼ cup
Preparation:Dried mushrooms should be soaked in advance and boiled. Sort out fresh mushrooms, clean them, and boil them until done. Boil the potatoes in their skins, cool them a little, and clean them. Mince them or chop them with a blender, add an egg and salt. Finely chop the onion and fry in butter or fat until golden brown, add the chopped mushrooms and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add chopped stale bread, salt, pepper, and herbs to the finished mixture. Grease a saucepan or stewpan with fat. Sprinkle the bottom with breadcrumbs and put a layer of potatoes on them. Then a layer of mushroom mass. Put several of these layers, and the last one should be potato. Sprinkle it with breadcrumbs, sprinkle with fat. Put the babka in the oven to bake until done (about 30-40 minutes). Prepare the sauce. Lightly fry the flour in butter. Fry the chopped onion in oil, add flour and tomato paste. Mix well, pour in sour cream and broth, stir and bring to a boil. Cook after thickening over low heat for 3-5 minutes. Put the finished babka on plates, pour sauce over it and serve hot. Enjoy!
Pork with prunes
Ukrainian cuisine cannot be imagined withoutpork and lard. Pork is an easy-to-cook meat that does not require long cooking times, unlike, say, beef. In Ukrainian cuisine, pork is traditionally cooked with vegetables or potatoes, and black pepper, parsley and celery roots, herbs, and prunes, which give the meat a pleasant, delicate flavor, are used as spices. Ingredients:
- Pork (tenderloin) - 600 g
- Prunes - 250 g
- Stale white bread - 80 g
- Sugar - 2 tbsp.
- Vinegar - 0,5 cups
- Salt, sweet pepper, bay leaf.
Preparation:Cut the pork into portions and fry in oil or fat. Place in a saucepan, pour in 3 cups of water and vinegar, add spices and simmer until done, turning over to prevent burning. Cut the cooked pork into thin slices. Wash the prunes, remove the pits and boil in 1.5 cups of water until done. Rub or chop with a blender. Chop the white breadcrumbs, fry in oil and mix with the prunes. Add sugar, pour in a little of the liquid in which the pork is stewed. Mix thoroughly and cook for several minutes, making sure that no lumps form. Pour the boiling mixture over the cooked pork. Serve with fried potatoes.
Pencil from apricots
What kind of meal would it be without dessert?Ukrainian cuisine is rich in sweets, there are many of them and they are very different. Sweet pastries, pies, pastries and cakes. Bagels, shortbreads, croutons... In general, there is something to please those with a sweet tooth. But we offer you a dessert that is not only tasty, but also healthy. And, what is important, low-calorie. Pennik (Pinnik) is a hot fluffy sweet that necessarily includes whipped egg whites. It is always served hot, with cream or sour cream. Ingredients:
- Fresh apricots - 0,5 kg
- Egg whites - 8 pcs.
- Sugar - 1 tbsp.
- Breadcrumbs - 1 tbsp.
- Citric acid - a pinch
Preparation:Peel the apricots, pour boiling water over them and boil until soft. Rub through a sieve or chop with a blender. Add sugar, citric acid and mix. Beat the egg whites into a thick foam and gently stir into the puree. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a baking dish (preferably metal) with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Put the apricot mass in the dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Put in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. Ukrainian cuisine, the recipes of which are simple and accessible, is a good help for young housewives. Rich aromas, high nutritional value and, most importantly, excellent taste that everyone in the family will definitely like. We recommend reading:
