Celebrating Foods of Ukraine

food & libations | recipes | delicious events

BY PRIYA HUTNER Rocket Vodka

Technology offers front-row seats to events unfolding around the planet, including what is occurring in Ukraine. The country is the second largest in Europe and the soil is rich and fertile. Ukrainians grow a range of crops such as wheat, barley, sugar beets, corn, sunflower and other vegetables. Bread made from rye or wheat flour is prepared in most Ukrainian homes. The foods of Ukraine are diverse and unique yet some remind us of dishes from other European cuisines, such as Nalisniki, similar to the French crepe, or Banush, akin to Italian polenta. Borscht is a traditional dish of Ukraine made with beets and there are many variations of this dish. Borscht can be prepared with beef or pork, kvass, a fermented beet juice, and vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. It can also be prepared as a vegetarian soup. My great-grandmother Anna was from Eastern Europe and she made a sim-

Find Priya’s recipe for Borscht in this edition or at TheTahoeWeekly.com

ple version of this soup, which can be served hot or cold. It bursts with flavor. Borscht is generally served with sour cream and Pampushki, a Ukrainian garlic bread. Sour cream is served with many dishes in Ukraine. Varenyky is the national dish of Ukraine. This dumpling is made of dough and is stuffed with all manner of fillings, some savory and some sweet. Classic fillings include cabbage, meat, mushrooms, cottage cheese, cherries, currants or potatoes. They are served with sour cream. Another dish filled with sour cream is Deruny, a potato pancake. It is often eaten for breakfast or as a side dish in Ukraine. My paternal grandmother made this for dinner. One of the main dishes of Ukraine is also one of my favorite meals – Chicken Kiev. My mother used to make this dish when I was a young child. She pounded chicken breasts and stuffed them with a pat of butter and herbs, rolled the breast, breaded it and fried it in a pan. This dish is absolutely delicious. Golubtsi, stuffed cabbage, is a main dish, as is Guliash, the Ukrainian version of goulash, a meat and vegetable stew seasoned with paprika and other spices. Other popular dishes in the country include Salo, a cured pork-fat dish served on rye bread or greens. Banush hails from Western Ukraine. It is a dish of corn grits, fried pork fat, cheese and mushrooms. Kholodets, a unique dish made of meat broth, is frozen into a jelly-like state with pieces of meat inside. Okroshka is a soup prepared with kvass or kefir, cucumbers, greens, carrots and radishes. Oliviye is a traditional salad prepared in Ukraine made with potatoes, eggs and mayonnaise. It varies from region to region. Breakfast dishes include Syrniki, which is made with cottage cheese, flour, eggs and sugar, gently fried in a pan and served with jam and sour cream. Nalisniki is a Ukrainian crepe traditionally filled with cottage cheese and raisins. Honey Babka, apple cake, poppy seed roll, cheesecake and Perekladanets, a layered sweet, are a handful of popular Ukrainian desserts. As we watch what unfolds in Ukraine, it is a time for all of us to pray for peace and the people of Ukraine. n

5 medium-sized potatoes 1 onion 1 egg 3 T flour 1 T sour cream 1 t salt 1 t pepper ¼ C vegetable oil Sour cream, for topping

Peel and grate potatoes and onion in a medium bowl. Mix in all remaining ingredients except the oil and sour cream topping.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Ladle batter into small pancakes and fry until golden brown. Serve with sour cream.

Rocket Vodka is donating 100 percent of the profits in March to Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen to help feed the Ukrainian refugees welcomed by the Polish people. Owner and founder Dariusz Paczuski, a Polish immigrant, has teamed up with Dmitry Lipkin, a Ukrainian immigrant and marketing executive, for the fundraiser.

Paczuski created Rocket Vodka after a trip to Lake Tahoe and it is created using apples from Apple Hill and Washington state using Sierra Nevada water. It is available at locations throughout the Tahoe Sierra.

To support the program, order for delivery from the website. | rocketvodka. com/home for individuals, app.libdib. com/brand/rocketworks for businesses.

The High Elevation Garden Workshops/Grow Your Own Series has returned both in person and virtually. Instruction on how to grow vegetables and fruits in the Tahoe region will be provided virtually on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and in person on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Truckee Community Garden.

Participants receive instruction on cultivation techniques, history/background on the plants being highlighted