More Food For Thought

By Walter Kish

In my last column I treated you to some of my favourite moments in Ukraine over the past year, and as many of you keenly observed, many of them involved food and drink to a greater or lesser extent. Though my wife thinks I have a one-track mind on this, it is merely that victuals and libations are a particularly important aspect of Ukrainian life and have been since time immemorial. 

We must remember that peasant society had very little to offer in terms of earthly delights, and consumption of these was one of the few avenues for providing basic pleasure in an otherwise grueling and miserable life.  As a result, despite a very restricted and basic choice of raw materials, Ukrainian cuisine has developed a wonderful array of culinary creations that are a treat for both body and soul.

Since meat was a luxury the average peasant could rarely afford, Ukrainian cuisine is heavily oriented around various grains, vegetables, dairy products and the wild bounty of the fields and forests.  A central role in Ukrainian diet is played by the ubiquitous potato.  Although an import from the New World, it has become the central staple of the Slavic diet for the past several centuries. 

My favourite form of the spud is potato pancakes.  Depending on where you are in Ukraine, it is known by many different names – platsky, deruny, drany, tertiukhy, kremzlyky and several other lesser-known labels.  The ingredients are fairly straightforward - some finely grated potatoes, chopped onions, a little flour, and some egg.  The ingredients are mixed together, spooned onto a hot griddle and fried to a crispy golden brown.  Served with copious amounts of sour cream, it is a comfort food par excellence.  Despite its simplicity, I have had versions of this dish that I wouldn’t feed to a dog.  The biggest mistake most people make is putting the potato through a blender or food processor rather that grating it.  It makes an incomparable difference to the eventual texture and taste.

The other staple of the Ukrainian kitchen is the cabbage, with a far older history in Ukraine than the potato.  Its most common use is in the making of sauerkraut or cabbage rolls.  Every fall, most Ukrainians will make a large barrel or stone crock of sauerkraut to last the long winter months.  Either in its naturally fermented state or fried with a little kobassa, it makes for a tasty side dish.  Cabbage rolls, of course, are one of the most familiar of Ukrainian dishes, usually stuffed with either plain rice or a rice-and-ground- meat mixture.  In the latter case, it is important not to put too much meat; the ideal ratio is about three or four parts rice to one part ground meat.  Too much meat, ironically, upsets the overall harmony of tastes that make for an ideal cabbage roll.  Fried bacon bits and onion can also be substituted for ground meat to great effect.  I have had cabbage rolls with a variety of other stuffings, kasha (buckwheat) for example, but have never really taken to them.  Once I even had cabbage rolls stuffed with mashed potatoes, which was interesting but not an experience I would be too likely to repeat.

The most well-known of Ukrainian dishes, of course, are varenyky or perogies as they are more popularly known in Canada.  These versatile little dumplings come in a wide variety of stuffings, the most popular being mashed potato or cheese.  The traditional way of serving them is slathered with melted butter and fried onions, or shkvarky, which are essentially fried bacon bits.  However in North America, the most popular topping is undoubtedly sour cream. Meat, mushroom and sauerkraut varenyky are also common, and there are dessert versions stuffed with a wide variety of fruits and berries.  The most unique form of these that I have eaten is a miniature version prepared for the Ukrainian Christmas Eve meatless dinner, stuffed with a mixture of minced herring and chopped onions.  As odd as this combination sounds, it works well. And, they are addictively tasty.

No discussion of traditional Ukrainian food would be complete without mentioning hryby, those delightful members of the mushroom family found only in Europe.  Dried, pickled or fresh, they are to Eastern European cuisine what the highly overrated truffles are to pretentious French and Italian cooking.  Aside from their food value, the very act of hunting for these wonderful fungi is an experience that has provided wonderful fodder for centuries of story-telling, songs, poems and traditions.  There are probably more ways of preparing and serving hryby than any other single food in the Ukrainian culinary repertoire.  My personal favourite is frying them with some onions and then simmering them with some cream into a delightful concoction fit for royalty.

All this writing about Ukrainian food has made me hungry, so I think this is a good time to end this column and go see what I can find in the fridge!