Beet Salad

Quick, fresh and tasty beet salad to accompany any meal. 

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds beets

• half white onion

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar, or white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard

• Pinch of caraway seeds

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish (about 2 inches of the root, depending on its thickness)

• 1 head of lettuce

1. Cook whole beets in plenty of water.  Depending on the age of beets, it will take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

1. When beets are tender, drain and peel them and cut them into julienne strips. (using a mandolin would be easiest) 

1. Dice the onion

1. Mix together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard, caraway seeds and horseradish.  Adjust the sugar and salt to your own taste.

1. Combine the seasoning with the julienned beets and diced onions and let cool in the refrigerator 

1. For an even tastier salad marinate beets in the dressing overnight.

Instructions:

SMA-CHNO-HO! (ENJOY)

Chicken Kiev

An old classic. Allow extra time to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts, halved, skin and bones removed
• 2 Tbsp. fresh Chives, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, mashed to a paste) more if you like
• 1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• Cooking oil for deep-frying

Instructions:

1. Pound each chicken breast between 2 sheets of waxed paper to flatten 1/4 inch thick. Do not puncture or tear.
2. In small bowl mix chives, salt, pepper, garlic powder and butter. Shape into 8 balls or rectangular shapes. 
3. Chill in freezer for a few minutes until firm. Place ball at long (wide) end of each breast. Fold sides over first then bring up front and back fastening with wooden picks.
4. Roll in flour, dip in egg and coat with crumbs. Chill for about 1 hour.
5. Deep-fry, in 375 F. hot oil for about 3 minutes until golden. Make sure all sides are browned. Drain on paper towels.
6. Here is where you can get creative and make a sauce to accompany this wonderfully delicious chicken.

SMA-CHNO-HO! (ENJOY)

Ukrainian Cabbage Coleslaw

My Grandma Olenka used to make this delicious cabbage coleslaw daily to add 'freshness' to her entrees. This easy accompaniment only takes 10 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• 1/2 - 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoons white wine champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Miracle Whip 
• 1/2 10 ounce tub sour cream
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 head cabbage
• 1-2 leaves red cabbage
• 3 large carrots
• 3-4 green onions
• 3-4 celery stalks

Instructions:

1. Rub salad bowl and the inside of the lid with all of the garlic cloves(save garlic). Cover bowl and let stand in refrigerator as long as possible, over night is best. 
2. Shred all of the vegetables as small as possible and chop up left over garlic. 
3. Combine all of the sauce ingredients together and stir until the vegetables are creamy with the sauce. 
4. Place vegetables in the garlic marinated bowl and stir well. 
5. Cover and let stand in the refrigerator until cool. This gets better as the salad marinates together.

SMA-CHNO-HO! (ENJOY)

Deruny - Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes are fried deliciousness and sure to hit the spot!

Ingredients:

5 medium size potatoes

1 onion

1 egg

3 tbsp of all purpose flour

1 tbsp of sour cream

1 tsp of salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil

1. Peel potato and onion and grate using the small star shape side into mixing bowl.

2. Add flour and eggs and mix it well, than add 1tsp of salt and some black pepper, batter should be still liquid enough so you can easily ladle it

3. Warm up a skillet with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium/high heat. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture at a time to the skillet fry on one side until golden brown in color, then flip to other side and fry for the same amount of time.

4. Serve immediately with spoon full of sour cream

SMA-CHNO-HO! (Enjoy)

Olivye - Oliver's Salad

Olivye is one of my favorite salads to make and eat. The different ingredients blend so well together you with catch yourself eating it all day.

Ingredients:

• 1lb of ham
• 1 can of sweet peas
• 3 potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 5-6 boiled eggs
• 3 pickles
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1 bunch of fresh dill
• Mayonnaise to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil carrots, potatoes and eggs in advance and let cool.

2. Peel the boiled carrots potatoes and eggs and chop into small chunks

3. Chop pickles, green onions, dill and ham in the same size chunks and add all together with the sweet peas

4. Mix in mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

SMA-CHNO-HO! (Enjoy)

Cabbage Rolls

Hi folks! This week we're going to make Cabbage Rolls or like Ukrainians like to call it Holubtsi!

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

3 lbs ground beef or turkey

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups cooked rice

3 teaspoons salt and pepper (or to taste)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 clove of garlic

1 large onion, minced

1 can of tomato sauce

1. Boil head of cabbage in large pot for about 10-15 minutes . Lift the cabbage out of the hot water, allow it to drain a bit. Start peeling off the tender leaves.
2. Cut up the onion in large chunks and peel the garlic. Place the garlic and onion in a blender with a small amount of water and puree them. Transfer pureed onion and garlic to a large saucepan and add the tomato sauce
3. In another bowl, combine the beef, eggs, rice, paprika, chopped onionand salt & pepper well with your hands.
4. Place a golf ball size of the meat mixture almost in the middle of a cabbage leaf. Roll all the way, stuff each open end into the roll, inserting the leave into the meat mixture with your finger.
5. Cover the bottom of a large roasting pan with a thick layer of the sauce, place rolls on top and then more sauce over the rolls.
6. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. Baste the sauce over the cabbe rolls during the baking time every 30 minutes to avoid dried out rolls.
7. ENJOY!

I know this is a long process but trust me it is worth it in the end!

SMA-CHNO-HO! (Enjoy)

Borscht

This week I will be teaching you how to make BORSCHT!

-Borscht gets its deep red colour from it main ingredient beets-

You will need:

• 2 lbs. beets
• yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic (the more the better)
• cup canola oil
• 2.5 litres beef stock
• cup white wine
• cup red wine vinegar
• 4 Tbsp. FRESH dill, chopped
• cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Peel and julienne the beets and onions
2. In a sauce pot, heat the canola oil, add the onions and garlic cloves, sweat over medium-high heat until browned and translucent
3. Add the beets and potatoes and saute quickly
4. Deglaze with white wine, allow to reduce, then add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer until the beets are tender, 20-30 minutes, depending on the size
5. Remove the soup from the heat, using a hand blender, puree the soup, adding the remaining ingredients (You may need to adjust the acidity to your liking by adding slightly more red wine vinegar, it should provide a fresh acidity to the dish)
6. For the garnish, serve with a spoon of the sour cream over the soup

SMA-CHNO-HO! (Enjoy)

Perogies

This wouldn't be a blog on Ukrainian food without the recipe for perogies. Perogies are dumplings filled with mainly potatoes and cheese topped with, my favourite, sautéed onions and bacon. YUM!

You will need:

• 6 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 4 pinches of salt and pepper
• 5 pounds of peeled potatoes
• 1 pound of shredded cheese
• 2 onions
• 6 strips of bacon

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain.
2. To make dough: On a dry surface, combine flour, eggs and salt. Mix in a little water at a time until dough is somewhat stiff. Roll dough in small sections about 1/4 inch thick. Using a large biscuit cutter or drinking glass, make circle cuts.
3. To make filling: Mix together potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. Fill each with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the potato and cheese mixture, fold over and seal edges.
4. To cook, bring a large pot of water to boil, carefully dropping in one at a time; stir continuously. They are done when they float to the top and boil for 3 minutes.
5. Topping: Sautee bacons and onions; drain excess bacon fat and garnish!

SMA-CHNO-HO! (Enjoy)