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The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen

On sale

14th May 2024

Price: £26

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Selected: Hardcover / ISBN-13: 9781472148544

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‘A muscular celebration of Ukraine’s culinary heritage, it is most certainly a political ‘statement in itself, but The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen is also, and most emphatically, a rich repository of deliciousness’ -Nigella Lawson

Celebrate Ukraine’s independent spirit in this cookbook sharing the nation’s unique traditions and culture in 100 recipes crafted by Ukraine’s most prominent chef.

Now, more than ever, Ukrainian cuisine and culture deserve to be known around the world. In The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen, Ievgen Klopotenko shares the true food of Ukraine – the way it is really cooked today – with modern recipes for familiar and forgotten dishes.

Klopotenko is Ukraine’s most internationally celebrated chef. A top restaurateur in Kyiv, winner of Ukraine’s MasterChef, and an activist promoting Ukrainian food around the world, he has also worked with First Lady Olena Zelenska to revamp the country’s school lunch program and campaigned for the United Nations to recognise the heritage of borshch.

The recipes he collects in this book are the result of years of research into regional Ukrainian cooking. After training as a chef in France and cooking professionally in the UK, he returned to Ukraine with a desire to catalogue and promote his own national cuisine – free of influence from Soviet-era propaganda.

These dishes form a Ukrainian cuisine all its own, shaped by tradition, geography and agriculture. Known as the ‘breadbasket of Europe,’ Ukraine’s beloved national dishes include:
– Borshch, the national treasure, a savoury beet soup – with many variations
– Pampushky, easy garlic bread rollsHolubtsi, stuffed cabbage rolls
– Varenyky, dumplings stuffed with sweet or savoury fillings
– Deruny, fried potato pancakes
– Lviv-Style Cheesecake, and more

Discover fresh ideas about how to use common vegetables, new approaches to fermentation and pickling, the delight of dumplings and simple baked goods, hearty braises and the pleasure of desserts such as Kyiv Candied Fruit. But this cookbook is about more than the food: It stands for the preservation of a culture under threat and the independence of people under attack.

Reviews

Nigella Lawson
A muscular celebration of Ukraine's culinary heritage, it is most certainly a political statement in itself, but The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen is also, and most emphatically, a rich repository of deliciousness
Alissa Timoshkina, author of Salt and Time and co-founder of #cookforukraine campaign
Today more than ever the world needs to learn about Ukraine, and what better way to do so than through the country's delicious food. These recipes are a brilliant introduction to the classics as well as regional gems, with a perfect balance of personal and historical insight. This book will take its prideful place on my bookshelf next to other wonderful Ukrainian titles from Olia Hercules and Anna Voloshyna
Chef José Andrés, Founder of World Central Kitchen
Yevhen is a powerhouse, you can feel his presence when he walks in the room. He is one of the chefs who is not only feeding the few at his restaurant, he is feeding the many of Ukraine. The recipes in this book are the recipes of the people, by a man who is on the frontlines of defending democracy
Booklist
MasterChef Ukraine winner and restaurateur Klopotenko celebrates Ukrainian cuisine . . . With a light narrative and anecdotes throughout, he asks, "When . . . citizens of another country follow a Ukrainian recipe, what is it but the preservation of Ukraine's traditions and history?"