• dangtangy on December 03, 2023

  Beautiful pictures, thoughtful prose. Really delcious recipes that are somewhat familiar, but different too, kind of mediteranean but with a lot less olive oil and more vinegar. I cooked a vegetarian dinner party for eight from this book and everybody was really blown away

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Black sesame challah

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    Very successful and delicious. I had to add a tablespoon of water to get the dough right. Looked beautiful and tasted delicious

• Another way with herring: herring and apple salad

  • mcvl on August 26, 2021

    Yummy. The apple and the herring yodel together, and the eggs tone them down.

• Odessan coleslaw

  • Foodycat on March 28, 2022

    I used a watermelon radish, so I cut it into fans instead of matchsticks. The radish was good, but not as good as the Vietnamese-style quickle I usually do, so in future I think I would just make the caraway carrots because that was gorgeous. I used cold-pressed rapeseed oil because it gives some of the nutty flavour Ukrainians describe in the unrefined sunflower oil they use.

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    I looked hard, but couldn't find the black radishes, so I used normal radishes and mandolined them into thin disks because I thought they'd look prettier. I used a friend's honey and the flaovur really shone through

  • TrishaCP on February 01, 2024

    I liked this. I made the black radishes in advance- their flavor is really sharp and goes well with the delicious carrots. (Carrots and caraway are delicious together.)

• Gogol's marinated mushrooms

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    This was really delicious. I made it the night before and used about triple the quantity of mushrooms. The flavours melded together nicely. A real hit

• Mark Twain's debauched ice cream

  • London_Mummy on January 20, 2026

    This was the second recipe I made in my quest to use up 1 kg of high-quality brandy butter rescued from clearance. I adapted it, to use 200 g defrosted brandy butter; 397 g (1 Carnation tin) of condensed milk; 600 ml of double cream; 2 Crunchie bars bashed into pieces with a rolling pin (chocolate-covered honeycomb). It is a very sweet flavour to me, but one of my children was very happy with this icecream, who had recently requested fewer unusual & exotic flavours from me. I might have some for breakfast with berries!

  • London_Mummy on February 04, 2026

    This recipe has been so easy & satisfying. After the first tub was eaten up, a family member, knowing I still had more brand butter in the freezer, spontaneously went to the shop, & brought me condensed milk & double cream, & a request to make more. This time, I rippled through a very simple mango purée, made by cooking down some leftover frozen mango chunks.

  • London_Mummy on February 08, 2026

    This "debauched" recipe just keeps on giving. I'm really glad I rescued that kg of brandy butter. This evening I used up another 200 g of brandy butter in Co-op's online Brandy Butter Cookie recipe. I swapped raisins for chocolate chips to please a chocolate-loving family member, who, as soon as the cookies were cool enough to handle, spontaneously made themselves an icecream sandwich.

• Stuffed peppers (Ardei umpluti)

  • lkgrover on December 31, 2019

    I thought the chili powder overpowered the other spices; next time I will reduce by half. Otherwise, I liked this version of stuffed peppers. Unlike many stuffed pepper recipes, the raw pork and rice are cooked in the peppers -- requiring over 2 hours in the oven.

• Shepherd's bulz

  • Frenchfoodie on March 10, 2019

    These have potential though were pretty stodgy. I got only half the cheese inside them though adding on top as the recipe suggests gave a nice bit of crunch. I made up the day before and then cooked from cold.

  • jungliemonkey on November 24, 2020

    Black Sea is one of my absolute favourite cookery books. However, these bulz, while tasty, were way more fiddly than the excellent recipe in Carpathia. As such, I will stick with the latter going forward...

• Bulgur, grape and walnut salad

  • mjes on August 15, 2021

    I remember fondly when bulgur wheat came to our corner of rural America under the brand name Ala with Spanish ala being an "all the rage" replacement for Spanish rice. I added some celery to the recipe which I considered a good decision - I don't think it interferred with the balance of the sald. Simply for personal taste, I may try other herbs rather than dill. But this is a recipe worth remembering - stores well, which when cooking for one is a very positive feature.

• A bigos for Adam Mickiewicz

  • rchewing on January 30, 2024

    Reduced sugar, did not add butter.

• Caraway and poppy seed sticks (Soleni prŭchki)

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    I rolled it a bit thinner than it said in the recipe. They looked lovely, had a nice snap and went down well with everybody. served them with the bus station dip and some cream cheese mixed with lemon

• Poached apricots in rose water

  • lkgrover on June 02, 2021

    Lovely poached fresh apricots. The creme fraiche adds a creamy tang, and the pistachios lend a salty crunch.

• Afternoon zelnik pie

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    I made this for eight so made it in a big rectangular baking tray with the filling spread quite sparselt. I forgot to put the egg wash on the top layer. It didn't matter though. Still looked lovely

  • SarahL on October 06, 2025

    Loved this recipe, especially the caraway. I did 3 layers of filling, and only used about half the amount of phyllo dough, but it was still delicious. Using frozen chopped spinach for the greens makes it even easier.

• Black Sea börek

  • jungliemonkey on October 28, 2020

    The balance of flavours here is just perfect. A wonderful, savoury delight, which I have made a few times now. In terms of options, I used filo pastry and nigella seeds. Also, out of necessity, I substituted chopped kale for the chard, and this works well.

• Black Sea beans (Kuru fasülye)

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    Interesting to make this with butter instead of olive oil. It works really well though and looked nice withthe lemons next to it

• Bus station breakfast paste

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    Had to use pecans because the walnuts had all been eaten. I used the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes rather than walnut oil. Went down well. Delicious

• Chestnut and sage pilaf

  • TrishaCP on February 16, 2020

    This was a lovely tasting pilaf, especially with the chestnuts popping up throughout to add a bit of sweetness and creaminess. Served with salmon.

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    Did all the frying and then put it in the rice cooker. It worked well. The sage was a lovely savoury note in it

• Half and half manti

  • Foodycat on March 03, 2025

    Really good - and I have been informed that I am allowed to make that one again. I didn't do half and half, I just spread the yoghurt dressing (which is only subtly garlicky, if you are concerned) on the plate, topped it with the manti and drizzled on the butter. I didn't have any walnuts, so I garnished with some toasted pine nuts for crunch.

• Trabzon kaygana with anchovies and herbs

  • lkgrover on October 23, 2021

    Really good for breakfast or supper, will repeat. I adapted this for one serving, using 2 eggs and 1 large anchovy fillet. If you use anchovies, the recipe does not require salt.

• Pekmez and tahini

  • dangtangy on December 03, 2023

    I used mulberry pekmez. Really nice, tasted a bit like halva, unsurprisingly I suppose, A good sweet and sour item in the feast. Followed the recipe; the consensus was that there should have been more tahnini in it

• A Storm River salad

  • kate_8v3dzp on February 22, 2026

    It’s page 187 in the newer editions.

• Kitchn

  A roundabout of history, geography, stories, and recipes, it’s a wild ride and a whole new perspective on a surprisingly rich culinary crossroads.

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• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Few can weave a tale like Caroline Eden. Her latest book Black Sea is filled with gorgeous photography, prose, and recipes.

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