Homemade is a delicious meal. There is no place I would prefer to be, and there is no place I would rather eat in. I did not cook when I was growing up in Ukraine, but I ate well because my mother, Olga, my father, Petro, and my family were very good at it. It wasn’t until I left my family to become an apprentice in the UK that I suddenly became interested in cooking. When the phone conversation failed to satisfy my desire for peace, home and love, my mother’s diet was successful. Suddenly, every time I cook, those nerves that are attached locally in my brain shoot a specific feeling: the feeling of life.
Koobideh kebab
I can’t stress that you need a lot more to make a tasty kebab, so use the fatty lamb you can get. To see also : Metro Detroit Therapy Camp helps kids talk about their mental health.
Prep 10 minutes Chill 30 minutes + Cook 30 minutes Serve 6
150g onion, 500g peel, best fat, best 2 tsp ground turmeric½ tsp bicarbonate of sodaSea salt and black pepper.
To serve FlatbreadsGround sumac, to sprinkle
Peel an onion, grate it and squeeze the juice. Then add grinding, turmeric, bicarbonate of soda (helps the meat to blend together), half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and mix. And I really mean connect it: put your hands in there and massage and work. After four minutes of such manipulation, if you have time, close and cool for 30 minutes (or overnight). This will help keep them together.
Get six skewers, iron skewers and prepare a bowl of warm water to wet your hands, so that the meat does not stick to them. Divide the meat mixture into six equal parts and, with a fork, shape each into sausages with a smooth surface (it is important there are no cracks). Place the meat around the top of one skewer and work it gently down its length, so you have a straight edge across the entire skewer. Continue to wet your hands with a skewer as you plant / distribute the meat around it. There should be no air pocket, and make sure that both ends of the kebab are attached to the skewer. Repeat with the rest of the meat and skewers. If the meat fails to form, discard the skewers and fry the mixture as sausage.
Fire barbecue or bake oven (of course, fire is where the magic is). If you are using a barbecue, wait until the explosion subsides; they should be red, but there should be no fire. Place skewers at a distance of 20cm from the heat, then cook, turning frequently, until golden brown and cook and simmer. (You can always cut into one to check.)
Take each skewer (with a heat-resistant glove), point its sharp end into the wood, and then use the soft bread to slip out the kebab. Arrange the kebabs on a pile of soft bread, so all the juice goes into the bread, sprinkle it generously with sumac and serve with a salad or tomato paste.
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My brother’s salad
Recent events have changed the face of many families. My brother Sasha eventually moved to Kyiv from Lviv, and lives in the same house with his eldest son, Nikita, and his fiancé Yana. Nikita is a very good meat cook, often baking large pieces of wood for this or that. On the same subject : Renovation of High School College of Technology Highlights Color-Changing Facade in West Caldwell. My brother, who also loves to cook, lost vegetables, so he started making this salad, sweet, because of the cooked aubergines and cheese, and fresh, because of the tomatoes. It’s much simpler with a short list of ingredients, but it’s full of flavor and fits all your vegetable needs. Sasha calls it the Armenian salad but, for me, it belongs to my brother.
2 large aubergines5 tbsp olive oil 2 (or whatever you like) medium garlic cloves, peel and almost chopped ½ small red onion, peel and finely chopped Juice of 1 lemonSea salt 4 large, ripe tomatoes, as expected2 tbsp water ‘ fruit sesame leaves. – Coriander, dill, basil, or a mixture of 100 g feta, crumbled
Peel a squash, grate it and squeeze the juice. Remove the aubergine skin pieces, if you like (Sasha does, because it helps to cook it faster), then cut into 3-4cm soft cubes; there doesn’t need to be exactly right, though. Place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat without adding oil (I don’t have it at home, so use a frying pan instead, and it works, though it’s a little smarter), then let it dry . -Fry aubergines, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until cooked through to soften. Add two tablespoons olive oil and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about two minutes, then soak in the dressing, then turn off the heat.
In the meantime, place the chopped onion in a large bowl, sprinkle over the lemon juice and a little salt, then set aside while finishing the salad.
Put the tomatoes in a bowl, add the juice, mix with the aubergines, remaining olive oil, sesame oil, onion juice, herbs and feta, and serve.
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Potatoes of my childhood
Prepare 10 Minutes Chill 30+ Minutes 45 Minutes 45 Serves 2-4 – that said, I can eat more than half of this in one go, but then again, I am a perfect pig. See the article : Spotlight Scientist: Laura Condon | College of Science.
Mom said, “Is this cooking?” Yes, it is – and what a recipe! In fact, it is one of the most traditional, probably cooked, fast-paced family receptions and student meals throughout the former Soviet Union. The beauty of this dish is, the potatoes are cut into small pieces; you know, when you try to cut them really finely and end up with some really healthy others and a bit thick? Well, here, this is exactly what you want, so do not use mandoline, not for nothing because it is a bad thing in general (my ordinary goal). Cutting the incomplete means some of the potatoes become chopped, and some become soft, while the onion catches a slight color. With some kraut or gherkin and maybe a piece of sausage cured on the side, I couldn’t think of anything sweeter to eat. To me, this dish is a big event in itself. Everything else, be it a sign of meat or a welcome drink, plays a secondary role.
1kg potatoes, peel1 large onion, peel50g unsalted butter 50ml sunflower oilSea salt
Cut two potatoes to be sure to cut into pieces, then cut in half well cuts. Cut two onions and cut well.
Place the butter and oil in the deepest, deepest frying pan you have (my deepest stainless steel 26cm) over medium heat, until soft. Slowly drop all the potatoes, add a generous amount of salt and stir once to distribute it evenly. Let the potatoes rest for a few minutes, then stir in the large broth and leave them alone. Be patient: give the potato during the season to catch and taste. The whole process will take about 15 minutes, when the potatoes should be crispy and brown in pieces.
Add the onion with a little salt, stir, then repeat with stirring and leave – it should be for about five minutes, until the onion is soft and fluffy – it does not need caramelised, but if a few . slices get a bit of color, all is well. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and cook for 5 minutes, then add plenty of water and wipe the bottom of the pan if anything bothers, until all the potatoes are soft. You get the best look along the road with a knife: if given, you are ready to rock’n’roll.
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Butter bean dip with garlic and paprika oil
This is based on the Balkan diet called papula. In the original, beans are very far-fetched, but I prefer silk-soft, kind of humus. Choose any paprika you like best; in this case, I prefer sweet, because garlic gives all the piquant notes I need, but if you serve it with good vegetables and enjoy the spices, by any means go hot. If you have few people to spend, it is still worth doing the whole amount, because it is good in the fridge and will provide fast food for two days.
500g boiled bean butter, well from the jar 3 teaspoon olive oilJuice of ½ lemonSea salt (optional) 1-2 tsp sweet hot smoked paprika2 tbsp sunflower oil4-6 garlic cloves, peel and sliced
Pour the beans over the bowl, but not too much; it is better to retain some of their water, because it helps to add silk. Save some beans, too, if you want to loosen it later. Place the beans in a food processor, then mix the olive oil in a tall stream. Pour a little lemon juice, then taste; beans in a jar are usually very good, so it is difficult to add salt, but you may need if you use canned beans. Add lemon juice to taste, then check the condition: it should look like soft hummus, so if it is very dry, add a little of the bean juice, or regular water if you forget and chuck the bean in the pit. (I have done this before).
Put the paprika in a small bowl. Pour the sunflower oil into a small frying pan, add the garlic, bring to a simmer, stirring gently. As soon as you see the garlic turns golden, reduce the heat or turn it off completely, stirring until most of the garlic has turned pale gold. Do not let it brown too much or it will taste bad. Once the garlic color is good, pour the garlic oil over the paprika in a bowl.
Spread the beans on a large plate, pour over the red oil and fried garlic, and serve with a nice bread or a nice vegetable – anything soft is good.
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Pumpkin and orange kolach
Prepare 10 Minutes Chill Overnight Make 3 Hours + Cook 1 hr 15 Minutes 6-8
I adapted this from the recipe of my Ukrainian friend Katrya Kaluzhna. Kolach is a traditional holiday bread, similar to challah. Pumpkin and orange are not traditional flavors, but they are an amazing feature of this version. Katrya uses a sour cream, but this type of yeast has little to no need (if you are a professional baker, by any means use 100g of baking soda instead). It is better to get rid of the different stages of this bread: prepare poolish and pumpkin puree the evening before, then it is doddle to bake and eat it the next day. I very much doubt that you will get leftover food, but, if you do, sprinkle with roasted kolach on the second day and toss with butter and marmalade; he also makes bread-and-butter pudding.
For poolish7g dry yeast fast 100ml water100g flour
For bread 200g of pumpkin meat, cut into 5cm chunks 5cm soft cheese of 1 orange 2 eggs, beat 150g caster sugar 450g white solid flour, add to the dough 60g unsalted butter, soften Salt
For glaze1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp milk3 tbsp mixed seeds
Pour the yeast and water into a bowl. If you are not sure how fresh your yeast is (I always keep my yeast in the fridge), let it sit in the water in a warm place for 10-15 minutes, until you see foam and foam. If you are sure the yeast is working, stir in the soft flour until you get a thick mixture. Trim it, cover tightly and let cool overnight.
Then simmer the pumpkin for 20 minutes, until it is very soft (if you do not have steam, pour the pumpkin into a metal or enamel colander, put it in a pot of boiling water, then cover with a suitable lid). ). as possible), then blitz to a smooth puree. (If you did this last night, let it cool and store, covered, in the refrigerator.)
In the morning, take out the poolish out of the fridge: it should look bubbly and slightly rise (otherwise, I am sad to make sure the yeast is dead). Pour in pumpkin puree, orange zest, eggs, one and a half teaspoon of salt and sugar. Now add the flour: just pour it all over and stir with a fork or spoon. Knead the dough well, then leave in a warm place for an hour or two, to rise.
Now, if you have one, match the food mix with the dough hook. If you do not, kneel with your hands in a large bowl; it will be a smooth process, but embrace it, and remember you are also rubbing your hands. Add the butter and a little buttermilk, and beat (if doing so by hand, wet your hands and use a stretching and folding technique), until well combined. The dough should be glossy, soft and fluffy. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes, then again give it a knead on a cool place; it may sound weird at first, but it will go away soon.
Divide the dough into four equal portions and place each one in a ball on top of a flat surface. Rotate each ball in a tall sausage, then place it on a flat surface and roll it from center to edge, straightening it to 45cm or so. Place the sausage dough parallel to each other, perpendicular to you. Squish and stretch the top of the border with your fingers, so they become a little thinner, then pinch together. Now, working from right to left, take the sausage to the right, feed it on its neighbor to the left, under the next sausage, and then on the last sausage. Restart the sausage on the right, feed it, lower it again and again, and continue until you have four full length sausages, then roll with the bottom border. The middle will look a little bigger, so stretch everything nice up to the top.
Carefully transfer the plait to a baking tray with parchment paper. Combine the two ends together, to form a circle with the center open, then close and leave for an hour. Scrape the egg and milk mixture evenly, then sprinkle over the fruit (if you are using chunky, such as pumpkin, fast-falling, then lightly wash the egg a little above to make sure sun glue). ), then leave to reheat for 30-60 minutes.
Bake oven to 220C (200C fan) / 425F / gas 7. Bake kolach for 30 minutes, until golden, then switch to oven to cool before slicing and serving.
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Baked milk yoghurt jelly
Prep 5 minutes Cook 20 minutes Set 3 Hours + Make 1 large jelly or 6
In Ukraine, we like baked yoghurt milk. The good news is, now you can buy ryazhanka commercially, but it is also easy to make, especially if you have made regular yoghurt in the past. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan, then cover and slow cooking overnight in a low heat of 170C (fan 150C) / 325F / gas 3 oven. The milk sugars will caramelize naturally, leaving a copper crust on top and a dulce de leche-tasting milk on the bottom. Combine it with sour cream or yoghurt, then turn it into yoghurt by making yoghurt frequently. I made this pudding with Thom Eagle for dinner we had at Little Duck The Picklery in east London. It is juicy and beautiful pairs with macerated strawberries in June, or ripe peaches in the summer, or some blackcurrant compote. Add vanilla, if you like, but I think the taste of baked milk is as good as it gets, I won’t mess with it too much. It is better to use pure honey, but if you are using ryazhanka, choose one that is not too strong. You can also use kefir, but this is more palatable than ryazhanka, so you may need to add a little honey (and probably add vanilla). Sometimes, when I have some time, I do this is a 200ml glass of water and serve them with a fruit spoon on top. But if you are interested in pudding with panache, put it in one-liter jelly. There is something disgusting and exciting about a big jelly.
Prep 5 minutes Cook 15 minutes Set 3 Hours + Make 1 large jelly or 6
3 gelatin leaves 100ml milk altogether 100–120g m, gently taste honey 400g ryazhanka (roasted milk kefir), or regular kefir½ tsp vanilla extract (optional) About 2 tbsp bad oil (optional) canned peaches, macerated strawberries, berry compote or fresh fruit, then serve
Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water in a small bowl: hold your veins and soak them as long as the pack requires you, so they go soft and smooth.
Pour the milk into a small bowl until it starts to evaporate, then pour into a bowl. This should cool it down to add gelatin. Squeeze the water out of the gelatin, then whisk the leaves in the milk, so they are digested. Then add the honey until it melts. When the milk has cooled to just warm (so kefir will not separate and put jelly grain), stir in ryazhanka or kefir and add vanilla, if used (taste the mixture first before you decide; I prefer mine without permission.).
If you are using six 200ml glasses, fill them every half up; if you are using a one-liter jelly jelly, it should be lightly brushed with a brush, especially throughout the bundle, but not even accumulated in the ground. Put in the refrigerator to set: for glass, it should not take more than three hours; for a large mold it should be given for four or five hours, or covered and cooled overnight and eaten within two days.
If you are serving jellies in glasses, spoon a little fruit on top and serve. If you are using a large mixer, remove it from the refrigerator, fill a large bowl with hot water and put the jelly mold in the water, make sure that none of the water has spilled into it, then leave it for 30 seconds or so similarly; heat will help jelly get rid of mold. Single tip of a butter knife near the side of the jelly, to break the engine, and then wet the plate with a light food (this allows the jelly to move if it turns out not in the middle). Put the plate on the mold, then turn very slowly, lifting the mold. At first, it may seem as if the jelly will not separate, but hold your nerve and wait five seconds or so. (If it is stubborn, put the mold back in the hot water for 10 seconds and try again.) When the jelly comes out, some of them may melt and pool on the plate. Take a baking sheet well off this one, then gather a lot of fruit around it to hide any mess. In extreme frustration that the jelly breaks when it comes out (this happened to me), use a sweet spoon to sprinkle it on a plate, call it “spoiled jelly” and (again) surround it with a daughter interesting fruit. .
When I serve a large jelly for a group of friends or relatives, I usually give everyone a small plate and spoon, and then we all, well, jiggle the jelly for fun before we dive into it properly.
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Recipe edited and extracted from Home Food: Recipes for Comfort and Connection, by Olia Hercules, published by Bloomsbury on July 7 for £ 26. To order a copy for £ 22.62, go to guardianbookshop.com
