By Rostyslav Oniehin
Ukrainians have always been considered as hospitable people who will do everything they can to make their guests not feel indifferent or hungry after their visit.
In Ukraine it is necessary to set a large table with an incredible variety of dishes, with the opportunity to please every guest. And now we will go through what usually Ukrainians have on their tables.
1. Green Borscht
Green borscht is one of the famous Ukrainian dishes, which is made of sorrel, fresh vegetables and greens. Borscht is practically the calling card of Ukraine. Sometimes people cook it with whole chicken or wings/thighs. This soup is a refreshing and nutritious dish that is usually prepared in spring and summer, when sorrel is in season and gives the dish its bright taste.
2. Chicken Kyiv
Kyiv chicken is also an extremely popular dish outside of Ukraine, and you can often see it on store shelves or on menus in restaurants in many countries around the world. It consists of chicken fillet, which is wrapped in butter and herbs, and then fried until golden brown. Main feature is about this butter with herbs that will melt inside of chicken, you will understand it when you try it.
3. Syrnyky
Syrniki are the most nutritious and light breakfast you can have in Ukraine. It is a traditional Ukrainian dish that consists of cheese pancakes, usually made from cottage cheese, eggs and flour.
They are almost the same as zrazy, but made from different main ingredient. For me, especially it was almost like chocolates or candies when I was a kid, that you couldn’t stop eating, one by one by one.
4. Vareniki
Vareniki (dumplings) are such a unique dish that can please anyone, due to their various fillings, which can be anything to your taste. In Ukraine, the most popular dumplings are with potatoes, stewed cabbage, boiled meat, cherries, or cottage cheese.
5. Holubtsi
Holubtsi(cabbage rolls) are a traditional Ukrainian dish consisting of cabbage rolls filled with minced meat, usually (beef or pork) and rice. Every time someone in a Ukrainian family visits their grandmother, she invites them to try freshly cooked cabbage rolls. For some Ukrainians, this is almost a tradition.
6. Banush
Banush is a Ukrainian Hutsul traditional dish that is quite common in Western Ukraine. Especially, banush tastes much better when you are going hiking or camping at Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine on your vacation. This is a thick porridge made from corn flour, cooked with cream or sour cream, which is usually served as a hot appetizer or main course.
7. Kyiv Cake
Kyiv cake is a classic Ukrainian desert which is symbol of Ukrainian confectionery culture. By the way it was my mother’s favorite cake, that’s why we had this cake on our table every birthday party or holiday. This cake consists of several layers of sponge cake soaked in cream, usually based on butter, eggs and condensed milk, with the addition of nuts or nut pulp. The cake is then covered with icing or chocolate cream.
Featured image: Traditional Ukrainian banush with corn porridge cheese and lard. Photo: Adobe Stock