Even though the holidays are over with and Epiphany was done with on January 6th you can still extend the taste of the season with Ukrainian food. Yesterday's Times Dining section gave an an entire page to this ancient and varied cuisine. These dishes are also wonderful chill chasers, flavorful and hearty. They are perfect for the snowy day and nights that come with this month.
The article written by Dining section regular Julia Moskin write about the dishes and the people who preserve this taste s of one of Russia's oldest provinces. She also wrote about the bastion of this cooking- the East Village where Ukrainian restaurants abound. It is hearty fare with the popular beet soup or borscht along with vuska , tortellini like dumplings filled with mushrooms or onions. These are a standard and and are usually added to the soup.Another popular food is stuffed cabbage. Usually these are meatless for Christmas Eve . Mos t of the time they are stuffed with pork or lamb.
The Ukraine isn't really associated with sweets. Yet there is the holidays meals end with a dried fruit compote called uzvar. Dried apples, pears prunes and raisins, basically the fall harvest is cooked with water, honey and lemon and then spiced with cinnamon and clove. The article doesn't mention the jam and semolina treats called povidlyanka. This is a type of custard made with whole eggs, semolina flour and jam of choice along with chopped nuts. The Ukrainians have several other pastries that they make and I suspect they have a few Easter treats that are really y something too since Russian Orthodox Easter is a huge holiday with them.
Ukrainian food reflects the people who make it - no nonsense and hardy .It is a great cuisine not just for holidays but for chilly winter nights to warm the body and the soul. Ukrainian food is the ultimate comfort food especially on a cold January night.
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