#COOKFORUKRAINE

   

As you knowour community is our lifeline. It's what keeps us going, keeps us inspired and it's what moves us to continue creating. It's also the place where we can effect change. These past three weeks have been incredibly challenging to witness, and there have been many moments of feeling complete helplessness. So we called on our community to create for good. And that they did. Inspired by Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina's project #cookforukraine, we are sharing recipes that share the foodways of Ukraine. Please make these dishes and share on social, spread the bounty and beauty of a country under attack and cherish the safety and comfort you hold. Our hearts are with you Ukraine, and all your beautiful people.

FIRE ROASTED CABBAGE WITH BUCKWHEAT, YOGURT AND SAUERKRAUT 

Serves 4 

By Kerrilynn Pamer

 

CABBAGE

1 head cabbage, green or red (both are delicious)

5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 generous grinds of black pepper

 

YOGURT SAUCE

1 tablespoon paprika

Juice of 1 whole lemon

1 cup of yogurt (I used coconut)

½ teaspoon salt

2 generous grinds of black pepper

 

BUCKWHEAT GROATS

¾ cup groats

1 bay leaf

 

Build a fire in your fireplace or or turn your oven on to 400 degrees. You can also do this on a barbecue.

Quarter your cabbage, leaving stem on. Coat the bottom of a cast iron pan with 3 T of the olive oil, and rub the pieces of cabbage (both sides) so they have a glisten to them. Sprinkle your salt on top, grind your pepper and lay the pieces flat in your pan. If it looks thirsty, you can add the rest of the olive oil.

If cooking in your fire, place your cast iron on top of your grill (this is applicable to the barbecue method too), or put in your oven. Cook over high heat until you get some charring and darkening of the cabbage. Keep turning over so this is even. Once you have a nice char and they are cooked through pull from whatever heat source you're using and set to the side.

While you are cooking the cabbage, add your buckwheat groats to a small pan with a bay leaf and toast over the open flame. You can also do this on the stovetop or in the oven. Be sure to watch carefully, they can burn quickly. Once darker in color and you can smell a nutty aroma, pull them away from the heat source.

Add your yogurt to a large bowl and squeeze your lemon into the bowl. Add salt, pepper and paprika and mix together until you have an even consistency throughout. Taste and modify, as needed.

Spread yogurt mixture on the bottom of a platter or plate and place the cabbage on top. Sprinkle the buckwheat and sauerkraut and if you like, add more yogurt to finish. Give a couple more grinds of pepper, and salt as needed, and enjoy.

 

Many of us have the fantasy of working on a farm and reaping the rewards of a life committed to the land, Marjory just happens to be someone who's done it. After a move from NYC to New Mexico over a decade ago, she's recently relocated back to her place of birth, Maine, and is discovering the bounty of the wild and diverse offerings her home state has in abundance. Hers is a world rooted in using what you have, and making it as beautiful and delicious as possible.

BUCKWHEAT GRIDDLE CAKES WITH PLUM PRESERVES + HONEY 

Buckwheat is an essential, enduring traditional crop in Ukraine. It thrives in cold, wet, rocky climates and is deeply nutritious. When milled into flour, the flavor is nutty and the texture is slightly gritty (it reminds me of wet beach sand in a pleasing way). The plums and honey are a nod to Ukraine's robust culture around seasonal eating and food preservation. They also add sourness and sweetness to the dish. 

Serves 2-4

By Marjory Sweet 

 

1 cup milk (or nut/seed milk of choice)

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup whole wheat flour (or oat flour)

¼ cup buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon ground flax

1 tablespoon chia

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Clarified butter for frying

Preserves and honey for serving

 

Warm the milk and butter over low heat until butter is fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the flours, honey, flax, chia and yeast. Cover with a plate or wrap and set aside at room temperature for 2 hours. Add the eggs and salt to the batter and whisk to incorporate everything evenly. 

Heat a knob of clarified butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When sufficiently hot, ladle in a 1/3 - 1/2 cup of batter and swirl in the pan to even it out. Fry until many bubbles appear, flip and cook through on the opposite side. repeat with remaining batter. Serve with preserves (preferably plum preserves) and honey (preferably buckwheat honey). 

A true aesthete, Gray, is immersed in the world of creative strategy and applies her vision to many disciplines. Working across fashion, music and design while running her research driven sweets line, Take-Out Delivery, she's been supplying CAP with interesting and relevant sweets for years. No one does Matcha sweets like her.

WALNUT MACARONS WITH BEET JAM AND TOASTED BUCKWHEAT

This recipe unites a few iconic Ukrainian ingredients and dishes. Beets from Ukraine’s national dish: borsch, which symbolizes unity, and walnuts and buckwheat to acknowledge Ukraine’s role as a “breadbasket” of the world and the Christmas dish Kutia, which symbolizes abundance. 

By Gray Broderick

 

WALNUT MACARON SHELLS

100 grams walnuts, toasted and completely cooled 

100 grams powdered sugar 

34 grams egg white

Pinch of salt

Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces. Add powdered sugar and pulse until fine. Be careful to not over process to avoid forming a nut butter. Place in a large, wide bowl with salt and egg whites (unmixed).

43 grams egg white

100 grams granulated sugar

25 grams water

Place egg whites into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and start whisking until you hit soft peaks. Turn off mixer for a moment while you prep the sugar mixture.

Combine water and sugar in a heavy bottomed pot on a stove. Turn on medium low heat, swirling the pot occasionally to make sure the sugar granules dissolve, monitor the temperature of the sugar mixture. 

Once the sugar mixture hits 230 degrees F, start the stand mixer on low. Once the sugar mixture hits 240 degrees F, take it off heat, put the stand mixer on medium-high and, while the mixer runs, slowly pour the sugar mixture into the stand mixer. Continue whisking on medium-high until the meringue hits 110 degrees F, around 3-5 minutes. 

In batches carefully add meringue into the bowl with the walnut flour mixture, making sure to avoid overmixing. The mixture should ribbon down off of the spatula back into the batter, with some definition but melting back into the batter. 

Place mixture in a piping bag and on parchment paper or silpat on top of a baking sheet, pipe out 1.5 in diameter circles, spaced apart, on the sheet until the batter runs out. Tap the sheet lightly to knock any bubbles out. Allow macarons to sit for 45-60 minutes at room temperature, or until a skin forms that isn’t disturbed when lightly touched with a finger. 

Preheat oven to 295 degrees F around 40 minutes during this waiting period. Once the skin forms, place baking sheets on the middle oven racks and bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the foot of the macaron is no longer sticky or moves when touched. Take off baking sheets and cool completely.  

BEET JAM

250 grams small beets, cooked

45 grams water, more if needed

175 grams sugar

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Pinch of salt

 

Cut beets into small pieces and add to high-speed blender with water, sugar, ACV, salt and honey and blend until smooth.

Place beet mixture in a heavy bottom put over medium heat. Stirring frequently to avoid burning the beets, reduce down the mixture until thick enough to part by running a spatula across the bottom of the pot. 

Take off heat and cool for five to ten minutes, then place in a jar with a tight-fitting lid to cool completely in the fridge.  

 

TOASTED BUCKWHEAT

3 tablespoons raw buckwheat groats

Dash of neutral oil

 

Heat a skillet for a minute. Add a bit of oil and goats, coating them in the oil. Toast until they change in color to a coffee brown. Take off heat and cool completely. Place in a mortar and pestle and crush into smaller chunks.

 

ASSEMBLY 

Take jam out of the fridge and allow to warm slightly at room temperature, or until the viscosity is spreadable. Pair all of the walnut macaron shells by size. Add jam to a piping bag and pipe out 2-3 teaspoons in the center of one macaron shell, then sandwich together until the filing hits the edge. Continue doing this until all of the macaron shell pairs are filled. Place in an airtight container in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm. 

Place buckwheat pieces in a bowl. Remove macarons from the freezer and, one-by-one and over the bowl, sprinkle the buckwheat pieces over the sides of the macarons, covering the jam on the sides. Continue until all of the macarons have been decorated. Place back into the airtight container and into the fridge overnight. 

 Take them out to come to room temperature when you’d like to enjoy them! 

The queen of gluten-free baking, Aran's infinite knowledge of baking with alternative flours, while staying true to her classically trained patisserie ways is one we rely on for all our sweet cravings. Hailing from a long line of Spanish bakers, she's the one to turn to when in need of an option that feels far from what we typically associate with a wheat free world. A scientist and an artist, she's changed our perception of what a gluten-free treat can taste like. A satisfying paradigm shift.

PASKA BREAD 

Paska is a Ukrainian enriched bread similar to brioche that is decorated with intricate braids making it look like a crown. It is served on Easter. Some recipes include raisins in the dough but I kept this one simple. The base recipe is based on the Braided Challah recipe from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple.

Makes one 8-inch bread

By Aran Goyoaga 

 

1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon (315 grams) whole milk or oat milk, heated to 105 degrees fahrenheit, plus more if needed

2½ teaspoons (10 grams) active dry yeast

3 tablespoons (30 grams) psyllium husk powder

1 cup (160 grams) potato starch

1 cup (140 grams) sweet white rice flour

1 cup (120 grams) tapioca starch, plus more for dusting

½ cup (70 grams) superfine brown rice flour

½ cup (100 grams) sugar

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ cup (55 grams) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and brushing

4 large eggs, divided

 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and yeast. Proof until the yeast blooms and a thin layer of foam forms on top, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the psyllium powder and let it gel for 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the potato starch, sweet white rice flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, sugar and salt. Add the psyllium gel. Begin mixing on medium speed and add the olive oil and 3 of the eggs, one at a time. Mix the dough for 2 minutes or until it comes together and is lump free. It will be sticky. Add a bit more milk if the dough feels dry.

Grease a large bowl with olive oil and scrape the dough into it, shaping the dough into a ball as much as possible. Turn it over to coat with oil. At this point it won’t feel as sticky and you should be able to shape it more easily. Tightly cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Chilling the dough is an important step, so don’t skip it. The dough needs to be very cold and hydrated to be braidable without the strands falling apart.

Lightly grease the inside of an 8-inch cake pan with olive oil. After the dough has chilled, lightly dust a work surface with tapioca starch and turn out the dough. Cut the dough in half. Shape one of the halves into a tight ball. Flatten it into a 7-inch disk and place it inside the cake pan. Cut the remaining dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll 3 of those pieces into logs that are about 14 inches long. Pinch them together at the top and braid them carefully without tearing the dough apart. Put the cake pan next to you. Gently lift the braid up and place inside the cake pan on top of the other dough and next to the edges of the cake pan. It will start to look like a crown. Cut the remaining piece of dough into 3 small pieces. Roll them into logs that are about 6 inches long. Pinch the ends together and braid them. Place the braid inside the cake pan creating a circle in the middle. Cover the cake pan with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes or until it feels slightly puffed up to the touch.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven 375 degrees F. Lightly beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and brush the top and all the crevasses of the bread. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown. Let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes then invert out of the cake pan. It’s best eaten the same day.

 

©2021 by Aran Goyoaga. Excerpted from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple: A New Way to Bake Gluten-Free by permission of Sasquatch Books.

A friend of CAP's since day one, Greg has been consistently creating some of the most delicious, inspired and high vibrational food around. We turn to him for inspiration, and with his range of elevated pantry essentials, Dark Horse Organics, he makes it easy to emulate his creations at home. This is California cuisine, seen through the lens of Japan.  

SAUERKRAUT

By Greg Arnold  

 

550 grams purple cabbage, stems removed

30 grams leek

11 grams sea salt

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

 

Quarter the cabbage, then chiffonade it. Slice your leek. Place them into a bowl. Now add your salt and caraway and massage for three minutes. Now get a deep container and pack it to the bottom. Let it sit at room temperature for about four hours with a lid on but not tightly closed. 

After the four hours, make a brine of two cups water and two teaspoons salt and stir until combine. Pour this brine over the cabbage. Push the cabbage down, so everything is submerged in the brine, and add a bowl or a weight to keep it down. Let it sit for at least 3 days to a week. Then store it in your refrigerator.  

 

BORSCHT 

275 grams organic beef shank 

350 grams beets (about 2 medium sized beets)

90 grams yellow onion (about a quarter of a large onion)

250 grams russet potato (about 1 medium potato)

150 grams carrot (2 medium)

150 grams parsnip (1 large)

60 grams celery (1 stalk)

100 grams beet stems, leaves removed

1 garlic clove 

1 teaspoon each of caraway seed, black peppercorn and cumin seed

1 laurel leaf 

1 bouquet of fresh thyme, dill, celery leaf and parsley 

1 tablespoon tomato paste 

1 teaspoon sweet paprika 

1 cup of the prepared Sauerkraut 

2 cups organic red table wine 

4 cups organic chicken stock 

Olive oil

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Peel your potato, carrot and parsnip. 

Dice the onion and celery into a medium dice, dice the beet stems into small dice. Cut the carrots into 1 cm rounds. Cut the parsnip into 1/4 moons for the large end and 1/2 moons for the smaller end (1 cm). Cut the potato into 1 cm cubes. Cut the beets into medium-sized batons (1 cm). We are trying to keep everything uniform. 

Take the laurel leaf, garlic (with the peel on), caraway seed, black peppercorn and cumin seed and toast in the pan on low heat, without any oil. Keep watch on them, they can burn quickly, toast until fragrant. Remove from the heat and place into a sachet or cheesecloth and set aside. 

Use twine to secure your beef shank into a tight round and add salt and pepper on both sides. 

Add one tablespoon oil into a Dutch oven on medium high heat. Sear each side for 3 minutes, then set aside. 

Add another tablespoon to the Dutch oven along with onion, celery and beet stems and cook on medium heat. Salt. Sweat them out for 2-3 minutes. Add your tomato paste and sweet paprika. Stir it all together and let cook for a minute. Now add the sauerkraut. Turn the heat up to high and then add your red wine. Bring the wine up to a simmer. Then add your root vegetables. Stir. Now place the shank in the middle of the Dutch oven. Add your chicken stock, 1 cup spring water and any juices that came out if the meat when you set it aside. Bring to a simmer. Skim the scum. Add the bouquet and sachet. Now place in the oven for around 2 hours. Check periodically. Once done, salt and pepper to taste. 

Holistic nutritionist and home cook extraordinaire, Vilda, is always cooking what we want to eat. Her deep commitment to food sourcing is paired with a love and respect for foodways resulting in dishes that are a love letter to place, history and people. They also happen to be delicious. Her dinner parties are coming back soon, if you're in South Carolina, hit her up.

BEET KVAS WHIPPED SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE TARTINE 

This recipe is an ode to a cornerstone of the Ukrainian kitchen: fermentation. Dense, fruity rye bread, fresh sheep’s milk cheese and beet kvas: an ancient beverage of beets fermented with salt - serve as the backbone for this simple tartine. This recipe, more than anything, is intended to encourage you to try a hand at making these Ukrainian staples from scratch in your own home kitchen. Look to Olia Hercules’ book Summer Kitchens for the recipes. 

A slice of hearty butter fried rye bread is the base for a cloud-like-schmear of whipped sheep’s milk cheese, that turns the most delicate shade of violet thanks to a glug of tangy beet kvas. Add a soft boiled egg, some frizzled capers and a touch of dill and breakfast is served. 

Serves 2

By Vilda Gonzalez 

 

BEET KVASS WHIPPED SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE

1 cup fresh sheep’s milk cheese, ricotta, or syr curd cheese

¼ cup beet kvas

2 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Pinch of salt

*This makes twice the amount as the recipe requires, simply because a smaller amount wouldn’t properly whip in the bowl of a food processor. If you wish to only use the amount needed for two toasts, you can halve the recipe and combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix till combined with a whisk. You won’t achieve the same airy texture, but it’ll be delicious nonetheless. 

 

ASSEMBLY

2 pieces of rye bread

2 soft boiled eggs, quartered and seasoned with flakey salt & pepper 

1 tablespoon capers

Glug of olive oil

Pat of butter

Fresh dill 

 

Microplane the garlic into a small bowl and let macerate in the lemon juice for at least 5 minutes. This helps to soften the garlic’s punch. 

Add the garlic and lemon mixture, cheese, and beet kvas to a food processor and blend till light and airy. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if you find it necessary. Set aside to let the flavors mingle while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. 

If you are using salt packed capers, soak them in water for 10 minutes before draining, rinsing and patting dry. If you are using brined capers, simply pat them dry with a paper towel before frying. Add a glug of olive oil to a small frying pan and warm over medium heat. Add the capers and let them fry till they are crunchy throughout. This should take around 3 minutes. 

Generously butter both sides of your rye bread and fry in a skillet over medium high heat. You want both sides to gently brown and crisp. When the bread is fried to your liking, remove it from the heat and allow it to briefly cool. 

Assemble by schmearing a heaping tablespoon or two of the whipped sheep’s milk cheese on your fried bread. Nestle the soft boiled egg quarters on top, scatter with the frizzled capers, and finish with dill. 

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