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All travelers bring something from their trips; and it’s not always souvenirs, but also delicious impressions from the authentic national cuisines of those countries which they have visited.
Ukrainian feasts are eloquently described in “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” book by Gogol. To be sure, Ukrainian women are not only incredibly beautiful, but they also have a real talent for cooking hearty and delicious foods and are known for their legendary hospitality! Ukrainian cuisine is incredibly diverse and each region of the country offers different tastes of the same traditional dishes. Some of them made Ukrainian cuisine famous in the culinary world. We have picked up the top 20 traditional Ukrainian dishes you must try: after you do that, consider having your impressions in the bag!
A lot of foreigners say that this amazing first course is the first thing that comes to mind when they recall their visits to Ukraine.
We counted more than fifty different recipes for borscht, because people prepare it quite differently in each region. Typically served with dumplings and garlic, borscht has a rich taste, can contain ripe meat, or be seasoned with pork fat slabs, with the addition of fresh sour cream... Or, maybe, you would like to try a lean version of this dish with beans or mushrooms? Ukrainians cook it during Lent, so if you are a vegetarian, you’ll love its taste! Moreover, you can use fish instead of meat: SweetyDate site can assure you the taste is unforgettable!
As for the many different borscht versions, in addition to classic ingredients, you can add apples, dried fruits, and prunes to make the taste more piquant!
Dumplings are considered one of the favorite dishes of Ukrainian cuisine among the foreign guests that they love and… can understand. The dough is the least interesting part: it’s the filling that they use to cook this amazing dish! It depends entirely on your imagination and preferences: potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, meat, cottage cheese, cherries, currants, blueberries, strawberries... You can list the various ingredients longer than you cook Vareniki!
If you find yourself in Khortitsa, in the region of the Cossack freemen, you will be offered Kapustnyak or Zaporizhzhya cabbage soup.
Kapustnyak is another traditional dish, a stew with pork and bacon, sauerkraut, and millet. If you cook it over a fire, you will get an amazingly delicious smoky aroma and taste!
There are plenty of cabbage soup recipes; people even dedicated a festival to this dish that is held in Zbarazh in the Ternopil region!
Ukrainians have long adored stuffed cabbage rolls, although their origin is still not defined. Well, who cares, when it tastes so delicious! To prepare this dish, you have to wrap the minced meat in boiled cabbage leaves. Usually, they use white cabbage, beef, and rice; but for the full effect, it is also important to prepare delicious gravy and soak the rolls in it... SweetyDate bets you will find it finger-lickin’ good!
Looking for tasty Ukrainian dishes for meat-lovers? People who visited Ukraine will tell you this is the one!
To prepare these rolls, people usually use beef or pork: the thing is to beat the meat to make it tender. Then, they wrap the filling in it and tie a roll with a thread. The rolls can be fried a bit and then simmered.
In the regions of Ukraine, they use different fillings: rice with onions, eggs, mushrooms, dried apricots, prunes...
The Ukrainian Polesie region is famous for its harvests of potatoes and dishes made from it. In Korosten city, in the Zhytomyr region, there is even a monument to a potato pancake! Also, there is an annual festival dedicated to this dish.
With all the simplicity of the recipe, Deruny are incredibly tasty! Usually, these thin potato pancakes are served with sour cream; however, they can be stuffed with mushrooms or meat, which makes them even more satisfying and juicy.
The name is already intriguing with its identity. Varya gutsulska is a salad originated in Bukovina. It's a good meal for fasting since it is both hearty and light. The recipe is simple: boiled beets, beans, and prunes seasoned with sunflower oil.
Tip from SweetyDate: if you go to Bukovina, be sure to visit its heart, Chernivtsi city, known in the world as “Ukrainian Paris”, with its cozy narrow streets, grandiose old cathedrals, exciting museums, and theaters!
This dish is made from yeast-free dough, with vodka or cognac added to it. The dough is thinly rolled, cut into strips, then it is woven, hence the second version of the name, “Pletunyi” (wicker). Real Ukrainian Vergunyi (unlike the Russian dish “Brushwood”) are fried in fat and served with powdered sugar.
Pork rinds are a Ukrainian traditional delicacy!
These small fried pieces of bacon can be served with a side dish, eaten as a main course, or used to cook scrambled eggs or vegetables. Believe us, any dish cooked with Shkvarki will feel completely different!
The recipe is amazingly simple yet multi-staged: boil mushrooms, then fry them in vegetable oil, then stew in sour cream, add green onions and parsley. But it's all about the mushrooms! The best way to get them is to go to Bukovina because porcini mushrooms are a real asset of the local forests. That’s why there is such a thing as mushroom tours in Transcarpathia today! Tip from sweetydate.com: if you are traveling to Ukraine to date single girls, then remember: porcini mushrooms are an excellent aphrodisiac! And, even if you come here in winter, you can still try this dish in one of the local restaurants or buy dried or pickled porcini on local markets.
Galushki is another version of dumplings. The residents of the region are often called "Poltava dumplings", ‘cause their traditional regional dish has become extremely recognizable. Traditionally, they prepared Galushki from wheat or buckwheat flour, or a mixture of both. They were served with the first courses and meat courses as bread or eaten with the broth in which they were cooked. Today, dumplings are prepared either without filling or with meat, liver, or mushrooms. Also, they are often seasoned with chicken and pork rinds, onions, carrots, and sour cream.
It is just impossible to explain to a foreigner why the meat broth is specially cooled to a jelly-like state! According to most Europeans, jelly should be sweet and served as a dessert. However, after the foreigners tasted the real Ukrainian jellied meat, many of them agreed that this is the best Ukrainian food they have ever tried! Ukrainians traditionally serve Holodets with horseradish and mustard.
It is quite interesting, but apart from Ukraine, France and America are claiming "authorship" to the recipe for cutlets made from pounded chicken fillet with a piece of butter wrapped in it. This dish was very popular in Soviet restaurants, then it was undeservedly forgotten. But now, it has a logical comeback in Ukrainian cuisine! You will definitely love this juicy chicken roll stuffed with garlic butter and a mixture of parsley and spices, and then breaded and deep-fried. Remember to cut the Chicken Kiev carefully so as not to splash yourself with hot butter!
You may wonder how they make corn porridge tasty? Well, the secret lies in the seasoning: they add sour cream when cooking this dish; then, some fried rinds and cheese can be added to the dish. Some tips from SweetyDate: when preparing Banosh, you have to permanently stir the dish, cooking it over low heat; use only a wooden spoon (since metal cutlery spoils the taste) and a cast-iron cauldron to get the right tender flavor!
Pike perch is baked with potatoes and cheese. The taste of the dish largely depends on the sauce you add to it when baking. Usually, people use sour cream-mushroom sauce with the addition of shrimps.
Once upon a time, this thick millet soup was cooked by the Zaporozhian Cossacks. They considered it both the first and the second course. Also, in different regions of Ukraine they added various ingredients into Kulish; but cereal and pork fat dressing always were indispensable elements!
This delicious cake has its legend, which says that once, the cooks forgot to put the proteins for the biscuit in the fridge. Then, trying to hide their mistake, they experimented. The results were amazing! By the way, today many European women love to cook this cake at home!
For these pancakes, they prepare a nut filling with milk, sugar, rum, orange zest, and raisins and serve the dish with chocolate sauce. SweetyDate.com assures you that this is the perfect snack to pair with a bottle of red wine for your romantic date!
A traditional dessert in Galychyna has a form of a tall cake with different fillings; then, they cut it into small brownies and cover it with icing on top.
This traditional drink made from dried fruits (apples, plums, and pears) is a healthy and refreshing choice for hot summer days! It is also served at a festive Christmas dinner.
Kenneth O'Riley – a relationship coach and psychologist based in Montreal, Canada. Besides a huge experience of working with couples and singles, Kenneth can share knowledge about Slavic women and the peculiarities of dating ladies from Ukraine and Russia. Our author has Ukrainian origin and lived in Kyiv, Ukraine, for 10 years. Such experience allows us to call him a real expert in Slavic girls and share working tips with you.
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