Notes about Recipes in this book

• Ukrainian beetroot broth (Borshch)

  • Carol.Furness on August 07, 2016

    Tasty and different soup. Freezes well.

  • joneshayley on January 24, 2019

    Lovely soup. I used only 300g meat for the stock and it was delicious still. I had a thought as I was making it, that perhaps, putting so much in , that I wouldn’t be able to taste the different components later. That’s not the case- it all comes together perfectly, the kidney beans are essential adding a textural aspect. The beef is melt in the mouth, the beetroot sweet and tender, the peppers delicious. I’ll make this again, hopefully with the pampushky as she recommends

  • AKane on September 15, 2020

    I made a vegetarian version of this soup by replacing the beef stock with homemade veggie stock (with onions, mushrooms for the "meatiness" and kombu for the umami) and adding a big pat of butter to the soup (to replace the beef fat), keeping the rest of the recipe as is. It was still amazing and well worth the work of chopping, grating and matchsticking all the veggies.

  • meginyeg on December 20, 2020

    Loved this soup. Simple but tasty and filling.

  • Lepa on January 21, 2021

    This was so warming and delicious! It takes a long time on the stove but isn't much work. It makes a huge pot (much more than four servings) and I cannot wait to eat leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

  • Acarroll on October 20, 2022

    Delicious. I used one pack of Love Beets and added toward the end. I wish it was beetier, but I'm sure my husband loved the amount. Either way this was rich and delicious. Sour cream and dill really added to it.

  • bernalgirl on February 06, 2023

    As others have said, a delicious soup that reminded my mother in law of her childhood. It feels extremely nourishing. It requires upfront work but a long unattended cook, perfect for a weekend or work from home day.

  • London_Mummy on November 16, 2025

    I make a vegetarian version of this tasty soup at least once each winter (I use vegetable stock). To save time, I used my food processor to make all the vegetables into matchsticks; it works well for carrot, beetroot & potato but makes the cabbage too fine. It always tastes better the next day & the next day...

  • darkpizza on May 13, 2026

    This borshch and the pampushky together might be the best meal I've ever cooked. I used short ribs as I couldn't find oxtail, but I'll have to use the oxtail next time because I suspect the ribs were not quite fatty enough. I'm sure it's even better with the oxtail instead. ?? Sour cream and dill as toppers are INTEGRAL, do NOT skip them!

• Sorrel broth (Zelenyy borshch)

  • rmardel on June 24, 2022

    I followed the recipe as written with the exception that I did not add the potatoes. I did not find they were necessary and the soup was delicious, satisfying and quite filling without them. The resulting soup was simultaneously subtle and rich, light and filling, playing up the lushness of the duck with the lemony tartness of the fresh sorrel leaves. In fact I was impressed with the depth of flavor and the amount of collagen in the broth that was evident when I took the leftover broth out of the refrigerator for lunch the next day. Although the soup was very good both days, it was difficult to remove all the duck fat from the soup that first evening, and I would probably make the broth in advance in the future. A lot of flavor is produced for very little effort.

  • Rutikazooty on November 02, 2022

    Made this soup and the suggested Moldovan flatbread (made them twice--once for first meal and then, for leftover soup). It was wonderful. I used fresh beets and beet greens and sorrel too (of course). It takes some time to make and chop but it made plenty for two meals plus at least one more serving in refrigerator. It's a visual and sensory delight. I've never made a bread that is has cheese inside (the flatbread has feta cheese incorporated plus herbs) and I loved the result. My parents were survivors of the Holocaust from Poland--this wasn't exactly something I grew up with. But it's adjacent to the foodways of what I grew up eating. And I did start making sorrel soup after going to Poland and having soup there (although a vegetarian based broth with kasha/buckwheat groats used to enrich the soup). My husband's family traces to Ukraine just a couple generations back so that's one of the reasons I got this cookbook for him --and I'm the one having fun with it so far.

• Gherkin, beef & barley broth (Rassol'nyk)

  • Lepa on February 13, 2021

    I made this soup today with pork ribs and it was delicious! I was careful to get brined gherkins, as there is not supposed to be any vinegar in this soup. I used rice instead of barley (as suggested in the recipe). It needed a bit of salt at the end but it was so very good. This sounds odd and exotic but it's a delicious and solid soup. I will definitely make this again.

• Mushroom broth with buckwheat

  • jenburkholder on January 25, 2021

    Quite tasty. Threw in a few dried shiitakes because I didn't have the whole amount of porcinis and it didn't seem to suffer for it. Also oven-roasted the topper mushrooms a day in advance because they were looking a bit peaked and I didn't think they should hang around. Served with sauteed cabbage and Estonian black bread for a satisfying lunch.

  • meginyeg on April 24, 2021

    This was decent and filling. I had only shiitaki mushrooms but it turned out fine. I added some cabbage that was going to go to waste. Would make again as a hearty cold day dish.

  • Anea25 on January 07, 2025

    a nice warm soup for a cold winter night

• Piquant Russian broth (Solyanka)

  • Frenchfoodie on January 04, 2020

    Delicious. A hearty, rich and tangy soup that was a real hit with my husband too. I’ve had Solyanka before at a Russian restaurant and this compared favourably even if I used beef stock cubes, making this very quick to make.

  • meginyeg on March 27, 2022

    We loved this. Meaty flavour is perfect with the tangy Olives. I did use pork bones to make the broth as I had a bunch in the freezer.

• Chicken broth with dumplings

  • joneshayley on May 27, 2017

    Very good, pure soup. As the author says this is ideal for an ill loved one- the flavours are subtle and rich. I will make this again and again.

• Spicy Georgian beef soup (Kharcho)

  • Melanie on January 06, 2016

    I thought that this soup was tasty but my other half wasn't a fan. The meat didn't fall apart as much as I thought it would but it was still soft. Interesting flavours and textures.

  • TrishaCP on January 14, 2016

    This definitely got better over time, but overall it was just ok for me. I was expecting a really flavorful, spicy hot and pungent soup, and I just didn't quite get there with the flavors. I've never made this before, so I don't know if this is the recipe or the dish at fault. What I liked about this was the addition at the end of a garlic and walnut paste to enrich and thicken the broth (she calls for using a mortar and pestle, which I did, but I wasn't able to get the walnuts into enough of a paste- I think a food processor is a better choice). I also liked the pomegranate molasses but overall, I wanted more of it. Finally, I used the beef short ribs, but they were pretty fatty and wouldn't be my choice next time. (Especially since the recipe doesn't specify de-fatting the soup.)

  • Mrs. L on October 02, 2016

    This was just okay. It was filling but I wanted more meat. Had much leftover "soup" which I added some cooked sausage to for a second meal.

  • bching on January 17, 2025

    jacob's ladder is a term for short ribs

• Ukrainian garlic bread (Pampushky)

  • Frogcake on January 02, 2016

    I used regular garlic as suggested here. These pampushky are excellent - will be making these again.

  • Lepa on January 21, 2021

    These were lovely with a pot of borscht. I used regular garlic, but only half the suggested amount because I was concerned it would be too spicy for my son, who doesn't like raw garlic. It didn't taste too garlicky- maybe the hot buns or steeping it in oil mellowed the flavor?

  • Lepa on April 12, 2021

    I made these with green garlic (as suggested by the recipe) today and they were so good! I highly recommend making these when it's in season. Our family of four was fighting over the last pampushky. These and a pot of borscht are the ultimate in comfort food.

  • Yildiz100 on April 16, 2021

    Nice. These comments are for the book recipe which differs considerably from the one in the link. Watch out if baking by weigh though, because the conversions are off. 390 grams of flour to 1 cup of water would make a dough that is way too dry, if it would come together at all. I ended up not using nearly all of the flour. Next time I will start with 310 grams of flour, which is what my conversions for 2.5 cups would be.

  • Jviney on March 06, 2022

    Should have read other reviews on this before weighing my flour from the book recipe - they were on the dry side but we still liked them!

  • Foodycat on March 20, 2022

    I used the weights from the recipe in the book - 400g flour and 225ml water. The first time I made it I used the dough hook and it was a bit too dry and quite difficult to combine. The second time I kneaded by hand and didn't need any extra water - it was quite a sticky dough. I used a mixture of regular garlic and wild garlic for the baste. The second time - hand kneading - I got a much fluffier result.

  • nomeshk on January 25, 2026

    Hella garlicky in the best way! Because I had to go out, I gave the dough a fridge proof after kneading, then shaped them and room temp proofed the rolls later. It didn't affect the texture much, so it's a forgiving dough. I added a splash more water than was called for to help the dough come together while hand kneading.

  • rebeka_eveksv on April 18, 2026

    Followed the recipe using measurements in grams. They came out on the denser side and were not very fluffy.

  • darkpizza on May 13, 2026

    Possibly the best garlic bread I have ever had, certainly the best bread I've ever made. I skipped the parsley bc I don't see the point of it. Dense, tangy, wonderfully garlicky.

• Moldovan breads with cheese & sorrel (Plachindy z shchavelem)

  • Rradishes on April 30, 2020

    The dough is a revelation. So fast, no need to rest, comes out soft and pillowy. Will experiment with more fillings: meat, berries, etc. Great for kids too!

• Moldovan lazy flatbreads (Frumentaty)

  • Rutikazooty on November 02, 2022

    Oh my! This is a lovely treat. Relatively easy (and fun) to make. I halved the recipe and made it two times in the week to serve with the Sorrel Broth (duck soup) recipe in the book. First time I've made bread with cheese incorporated into dough. It looks beautiful and tastes yummy. My one recommendation for the 3 minute per side shallow fry in the recipe is to put the heat on med-low--just a little bit above low. Otherwise, it gets too brown on my gas stovetop.

• Moldovan giant cheese twist (Vertuta)

  • joneshayley on October 08, 2017

    Fun to make, and quite tasty. I’ll keep experimenting with this one. Note- despite cooking for longer some spots of dough weren’t fully cooked due to the thickness- but this could be as mine came out quite thick, I’m sure if we were better at rolling and had a thinner “sausage” this would have been baked through :)

• Beetroot & prune salad

  • Frogcake on January 02, 2017

    A very nice, simple recipe for roasted beets. Never thought to pair prunes and beets -this works well for me. Delicious.

  • dinnermints on September 24, 2017

    Delicious. Very pretty with red, orange, and candy-striped beets. I think I tossed 3 lbs beets with 1 tsp. salt (made 1.5 recipe). Didn't need as much dressing as the recipe called for. The whole recipe is worth doubling for extras....could see this making an appearance at Thanksgiving.

  • sarahkalsbeek on November 13, 2021

    Incredible! I saw this recipe, realized I had all the ingredients, and thought, "that sounds good - the prunes are in interesting addition, let's try it." I had zero clue that a one bite of roasted beet plus juicy prune plus toasted walnut is basically, in a word, heaven. This will be a longtime favorite!

  • grindabod on November 15, 2021

    Same sentiment here, absolutely love the combination of the beetroot with the prunes AND of the sour cream with the balsamic vinegar. One of those things that you wouldn't have thought to combine but make so much sense when you think about it. I've made this a few times already whenever I felt the need for a beetrooty side.

  • jenburkholder on November 28, 2021

    Quite tasty. Doesn’t hold up quite as well as leftovers, though - plan to eat the day of. Intensely garlicky. I found myself wishing for a bit more prune, though, so I would probably add more if I made it again.

  • Lepa on March 06, 2022

    I like beets but don't love them but this dish was phenomenal. I made this for a Ukrainian-focused dinner and this was the best dish. Highly recommend.

  • Pinkrupee on March 10, 2022

    I agree this was quite garlicky and would probably just use one clove next time. I used dill as I didn't have any coriander and that worked too.

• Georgian kidney bean salad (Lobio)

  • dinnermints on July 15, 2018

    Make at least a double recipe, since it serves two. Even with the doubling, I cut down the oil altogether to 2 T. Also used home-cooked black runner beans. It was delicious. Next time I'd try ground blue fenugreek instead of fenugreek seeds, as I understand it would be quite a different flavor.

  • jenburkholder on August 17, 2020

    A very good lobio. I bumped up the vinegar and replaced sherry vinegar with champagne, but otherwise stayed true to recipe. Made me three nice lunches along with some dark bread and a vegetable-heavy salad. Will make again.

  • Lepa on August 25, 2021

    I was surprised that we didn't like this at all. The vinaigrette had an unpleasant taste and didn't have enough acid (even after I added more). The overall effect was somewhat muddy.

• Armenian beans with a tomato dressing (Lobi)

  • Yildiz100 on December 27, 2019

    Interesting recipe that contains no oil or added fat of any kind. Beans come out very crunchy, making the whole thing taste too virtuous for my taste. Try again with soft boiled beans.

• Armenian roast vegetables

  • Lepa on December 28, 2023

    This is an especially delicious roasted vegetable dish! The tomatoes give it a lovely saucy flavor. We ate the vegetables with feta, as recommended, and I literally could not stop eating.

• Chilli & garlic cucumber

  • Lepa on March 06, 2022

    These cucumbers are very spicy- and delicious! They went well with a creamy dish of potato dumplings.

• Beetroot & gherkin salad (Vinegret)

  • bernalgirl on February 06, 2023

    A surprisingly huge hit, although I didn’t like the roasted potatoes, which were a little crispy by the time the denser beets were fully cooked. I used a dill pickle in tiny dice and mixed that with the red onion, pepper, and salt to mellow the onion. Next time I’d boil the potatoes after the peas and dice roasted beets instead of dicing raw beets. Our parents, of Eastern European descent, absolutely loved this.

• Potatoes with pork & shallots

  • emma_clare on January 22, 2024

    This was really delicious and I would definitely make again. I used pancetta and regular onions. My potatoes took less than 45 minutes, more like 35m. I think this would be a great alternative to potato salad as a bbq side dish.

• Potato cakes with goats' cheese (Deruny)

  • allisonsemele on December 06, 2021

    I've been making these every Christmas/Chanukah for three years. Chanukah 2021 notes: 1.25lbs potato, larger than small carrot, made bigger pancakes than specified. The larger pancakes needed 20 min in the oven to finish. Served with the suggested blackberry sauce and sour cream. For anybody thinking of making these: as written they are not very goat cheese-y. Use more if you want that flavor to come through. Author says serves 4 as a side; for a main I would say serves 2-3.

• Azerbaijani chicken with prunes & walnuts (Kurka levengi)

  • MmeFleiss on March 24, 2016

    Make only half the amount of stuffing.

• Yogurt drop scones (Oladky)

  • Mrs. L on October 02, 2016

    Loved this. Simple and quick. Used kefir. Nice tang.

  • allisonsemele on May 07, 2022

    Cooked in butter instead of oil. One recipe serves two, and I thought these were pretty good. Very easy. Served with yogurt and plum jam. My batch around 12 silver dollar sized pancakes.

  • Futuregirl23 on January 22, 2023

    These are just divine. So light and fluffy. I had them as a little dessert, perfect comfort food!

  • snackbaby on November 19, 2023

    these are soo good and super easy! we make these regularly as a weekend breakfast treat

• Cabbage slaw with toasted sunflower seeds

  • tekobo on March 17, 2017

    The dill gives this slaw a lovely, fresh lift.

• Mutton in coriander

  • tekobo on March 17, 2017

    What a fab recipe for jazzing up ribs. I used goat ribs. Recipe doesn't say when to use the onion - I added it in with the carrots and grated tomato. Served with rice. Do again.

  • bernalgirl on February 06, 2023

    I planned to make this then couldn’t get ribs so I used thick slices of lamb neck and cooked on low for four hours. It’s very easy to make, the marinade smells absolutely amazing — although I missed that the sliced onions should be added to the marinating meat, so added with the carrots — and the final addition of herbs brightens everything up. A perfect winter meal over buttered egg noodles.

• Apricot & sour cherry pie

  • bcarpenter on August 06, 2017

    Delicious. I used semolina flour instead of ground almonds, and it worked fine. Pie seemed extremely soupy when it came out of the oven, but it was perfect when it had cooled down.

  • Afiesler on July 14, 2023

    Deliciously tart pie. We used frozen sour cherries (pitted) and ground almonds mixed with almond flour.

• Spring radish & tomato salad

  • lkgrover on August 26, 2017

    A good, light summer salad or side dish. I like the extra crunch added by the radishes.

  • dinnermints on September 24, 2017

    Refreshing and simple salad; would make again.

  • bernalgirl on September 30, 2023

    This salad is more than the sum of its parts, simple to put together, fresh in flavor, and per the headnote, you’ll want good bread to sop up the last of the vegetable- and dill-infused dressing.

  • darkpizza on May 02, 2026

    I love cukes, tomatoes, and radishes, but this didn't really do it for me for some reason. Not bad, but honestly I'd rather just eat the veggies plain. ??

• Tartar steamed dumplings (Manty)

  • dinnermints on September 24, 2017

    Fantastic, and very filling.

• Honey cake (Medovyk)

  • dinnermints on September 24, 2017

    So. Good. The frosting was too runny...my Ukrainian friend called her aunt, who told her that you have to add sugar to sour cream slowly, and that there was no saving it if it turned runny. But instead we added two 8oz packages cream cheese, and that did the trick. Didn't even add any extra sugar - perfect. I love how this cake is not too sweet. Excellent flavors.

  • tges on February 01, 2021

    This makes a stickier cake layer than the standard Russian medovik biscuit layer which tastes just as good but isn't probably going to present as well as the latter, due to it's stickiness. In any case, Hercules produces a tasty honey cake with sour cream - that doesn't require days of refrigeration for the layers to soften. This medovyk may be eaten immediately!

• Kefir & herb barbecued chicken

  • Rradishes on February 17, 2018

    Easy and tasty marinade. Buttermilk, herbs and honey make a juicy, slightly sweet, caramelized chicken.

  • Frenchfoodie on November 07, 2025

    Delicious, tasty, juicy chicken. I halved the honey and went for 3/4 parsley to 1/4 coriander to fit with household tastes.

• Baked quince

  • lkgrover on November 03, 2019

    Roasted/poached quince with a delicious sauce; everything smells wonderful while baking. I served with vanilla ice cream.

  • Apollonia on October 30, 2025

    The sauce was lovely, and it did smell delightful. Everyone who likes quince loved it, but it didn't convert anyone on the fence.

• Ukrainian fried pastries with black cardamom (Verhuny)

  • AlineLorieri on February 27, 2021

    The recipe says to roll the dough as thin as you can, which in my opinion wasn't good. Not only is it much harder to shape, but it turns too crispy and crumbly when fried. I Divided the dough in half, and rolled each half big enough to make 20 4x4cm squares. that thickness was perfect! They puff up slightly and have some moisture inside which made them way more succulent.I'd also suggest to youtube the name of the biscuit to learn about the shaping as the explanation is very vague. Overall they are delicious and I will be making this again!

  • Hansyhobs on March 28, 2022

    Art for Ukraine event - an interesting dough to work with, soft and sticky. No directions about needing to chill. Great result though

• Berlin curd cheese biscuits (Berlins'ke pechyvo)

  • Apollonia on April 10, 2021

    I don't know what it is, but we just love these unfussy little cookies and have made them often. Not too sweet, but with a rich taste and great texture. I always use butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract; I've also made them with ricotta when out of cottage cheese, and it works beautifully. I keep meaning to try with demerara or turbinado, but they turn out so nicely with regular old granulated, too. They are also quite nice looking and very easy, so a good addition to a round out a cookie plate.

• Curd cheese patties in maple syrup (Syrnyky)

  • Apollonia on June 10, 2021

    Made this with twaróg cheese, and really liked it. The patties were easy and filling. Although my sour cream sauce split, it came back together with some whisking, and it was very nice with the patties. The book says this can be either a breakfast or dessert; given the restrained sweetness, it's to my mind more of a breakfast (or if you're me, a dinner)

  • stef on February 12, 2023

    These were very good. Quick to make. I will double recipe next time. Served with roasted apples and maple syrup. A nice brunch.

• Tomatoes stuffed with cheese & herbs

  • lkgrover on August 03, 2021

    I made this with feta cheese; doubled the parsley. Terrific use of summer tomatoes.

• Stuffed Ukrainian pasta - potato filling with crispy pork (Varenyky z kartopleyu)

  • Nkrieda78 on March 04, 2022

    We loved this! I couldn’t get pancetta, no problem subbing out chopped high quality bacon.

• BBQ catfish (Som)

  • Jviney on March 06, 2022

    Cooking for Ukraine…we enjoyed the flavour of this one. I’d probably sub halibut or sea bass next time, my catfish wasn’t great but I wanted to be authentic to the recipe and culture. Marinated the fish overnight, served with Korean carrots.

• Korean carrots (Morkovcha)

  • Jviney on March 06, 2022

    Served with BBQ Catfish - a nice side, loved the combination of flavours, it did seem both Eastern European and Asian at the same time.

  • snackbaby on November 19, 2023

    these are nice but not quite my favorite iteration of this recipe. nice to keep in the fridge though.

• Apple sponge (Biskvit)

  • Hansyhobs on March 28, 2022

    Art for Ukraine event - this was really nice

• Baked Ukrainian cheese cake (Zapinkanka)

  • Hansyhobs on March 28, 2022

    Art for Ukraine event - cottage cheese makes me retch so I couldn't bring myself to try it but it went down well at the event

• Central Asian chicken & pasta (Beshbarmak)

  • Stephenn31 on October 16, 2022

    Simple recipe which tastes like more than its parts.

• Garlicky white rabbit

  • meginyeg on January 23, 2023

    This was good. I should have used a bigger pot but the flavour was wonderful.

• Armenian pickles

  • meginyeg on January 30, 2023

    I suspected without weights for the ingredients especially the salt and water that this recipe would fail. And I was right. It was much too salty.

• Ukrainian Easter bread (Paska)

  • Astrid5555 on April 29, 2023

    Made Sarah C. Owens’ sourdough variation of this recipe and it was delicious - perfect for poppyseed lovers!

• Lick-your-fingers tomatoes (Pal'chyky oblyzhesh)

  • snackbaby on November 19, 2023

    these are so exciting and fizzy, v. nice on sandwiches with goat's cheese

• Apricot jam

  • JimCampbell on October 14, 2024

    Used this recipe again yesterday. The end result was very good according to the household jam expert (my wife). This time around I used plums. The standard purple variety and the light green variety. 7 1/2 pounds of plums and two pounds of powdered sugar. I thought it was a bit sweet and could have used a bit more of a pronounced plum flavor, so perhaps the next round will be 1 1/2 pounds of sugar for 7 pounds of fruit. I will say....don't dump all of the sugar in at once. Start with enough until a liquid base is formed and then add more. Perhaps add some simple syrup, along with the lemon juice, to provide a liquid base. Also, I kept the heat low, which takes longer to get to a simmer, and, I stirred pretty much the entire 10 minutes for the third and fourth reheat, but the end result was no scorching in the pot. It was a bit of a pain picking the plums skins out of the pot, but it was worth it in the end. No one likes plum skins caught in their teeth. :-)

• Garlicky Georgian poussins (Kurka tabaka)

  • Countesschicklington on February 17, 2026

    Divine! I didn't have any poussins and had boneless chicken thighs to use up, which cook considerably more quickly than a whole bone-in bird. Added garlic and more herbs to the buttery sauce because they needed using too. Served with rice and the summer salad from the same book. Yummy!

• Poppy seed roll (Rulet z makom)

  • joanne_rrfnxi on February 26, 2026

    Makes two rolls the size as shown, I froze one. Felt the poppy seed mix was rather wet - perhaps needed more grinding or different seed mix. Used lurpack rather than margarine.

• Stuffed cabbage leaves (Holubtsi)

  • TheresaH on March 17, 2026

    These are delicious.

• Armenian beans with egg & herbs (Lobi tipakatz)

  • London_Mummy on March 24, 2026

    This was nice enough for a quick weekday dinner, full of protein & fibre, but a bit dull.

• Eater

  ...comprehensive volume, chock full of the flavors of the region, with just enough of a seasonal twist to keep very old recipes feeling surprisingly fresh.

  Full review