THE COOKBOOK TEST #0015: BUDMO! RECIPES FROM A UKRAINIAN KITCHEN

INSTALLMENT #0015 (FREE) / WARTIME EATS / A RESTRAINED PALATE / VYSHYVANKA BARS / VEGETARIAN RUSSIAN POTATO SALAD

Dear Readers, 

The timing on BUDMO! RECIPES FROM A UKRAINIAN KITCHEN couldn't be better and/or it couldn't be worse. Couldn't be worse because what's happening in Ukraine is a tragic struggle for life and death pitting a young democracy against an ancient oligarchy, and that's a pretty grim backdrop for delicious kitchen antics.

Couldn't be better because anything that builds empathy and connection with Ukrainian life and culture is urgently timely, and Budmo! does a wonderful job of immersing readers in a lively, warm, hospitable, and inviting food culture.

Author Anna Voloshyna (interviewed here in a great piece in Stained Page News and here in Above the Fold) bridges Ukraine and the United States, having spent her first 20 years living in Ukraine and shopping its markets while living and breathing its food culture. Work brought her to the Bay Area where she became known for hosting Eastern European food-focused popup dinners that helped to introduce dishes like khachapuri and varenyky to the local food scene. 

Opening Budmo!, I braced myself for a book on war footing, filled with fierce nationalism and rage against the damage done to the author's homeland by the invading Russians. There would be nothing whatsoever wrong with that sort of a tone or stance (and it would in many ways be historically appropriate), but Budmo! is far more calm and timeless, tapping into generations of Ukrainian tradition and hospitality, and celebrating the fruits of the fields and the bazaars rather than digging into grudges and blood conflict. It gives the book legs beyond the current struggle and makes it an oasis from, rather than an extension of, Ukraine's current existential struggle.

at your service,

James

Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen
By Anna Voloshyna
Rizzoli International Publications 2022 | $40

The way Budmo! collects its recipes is thoughtful - there are common flavor themes (rooty, smokey, meaty, herbal, pickled) that run through most of the book and you can practically taste the abundance of the fields and markets as you turn its pages. The book's pantry is full of buckwheat, dill, garlic, honey, horseradish, pork belly, rye bread, sunflower oil, tomato paste, vodka, and all sorts of pickled veg, and the repetition and echoing helps it feel coherent and deliberate.

The book bursts with color and nicely distributes its recipes between meat and vegetarian, challenging and simple, side dishes versus main - it's easy to imagine composing a meal with the dishes of Budmo!, which have a great deal of complementary material and most of which would sit together in harmony on a long table bristling with family and friends.

I come to Budmo! as a reader with Ukrainian-Jewish heritage, so there are flavors and dishes that connect with me on a deep emotional level - cured fish, rye bread, dumplings, caviar, sour cream, pickles, and so forth. This stuff has been sloshing around the delis of my travels and the dinner plates of my collective unconscious since forever.  But there are also many dishes that feel like bridges to Persia and Central Asia (lots of pomegranate molasses and pilaf!) or connections to the old Soviet Union that don't feel as familiar, but are inviting and intriguing nonetheless.

The writing is strong. Recipe directions are precise and a bit expansive, but not condescending or overly fussy, the author gives plenty of clear direction without being excessive - ingredients are largely accessible, with enough interesting flours / fishes / sunflower oil / pomegranate molasses / ghee etc. to keep it grounded in the region without being overwhelming or impossible to execute. Things in Budmo! mostly operate on an elevated home cooking level, something that'll be at times a stretch for some readers but certainly not for all.

VYSHYVANKA BARS

When I first looked at the recipe for Vyshyvanka Bars, the first thing I thought was: "That's a lot of Vs and Ys!" But the second thing that I thought was: "That doesn't look like nearly enough sugar." And indeed, for an American dessert pastry, this buttery/jammy bar is remarkably restrained. The sweetness, such as it is, comes almost entirely from the jam; the pastry itself is muted, neutral, mellow, and restrained, even as it sports a buttery richness.

I had a difficult time getting my dough to come together and thought about adding another egg, but I powered through on the assumption that time in the fridge and time in the oven would make everything knit together in the end. Sure enough: the bars are a little delicate and they fray at the edges, but they ultimately hold together.

I have picked up a few culinary habits via my Russian-adjacent roots - one of them is drinking a lot of tea. (OK, I'm fairly sure this comes via my English heritage as well.) I buy it in big bags of loose leaves from either a Russian or an Indian grocery store, and run through hundreds of cups in a typical year, switching over to a homemade Arnie Palmer recipe in the hot months of July through September. Vyshyvanka bars are excellent with tea - a faint touch of sweetness, but nothing extreme. Simple, humble, fruit-forward, and rustically attractive looking to boot. We'll have to see how this first pan treats me, but this may be a tea-time snack for years to come.

Vyshyvanka Bars

4 cups flour plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (16 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp tart jam (plum, black currant, cranberry, etc.)

In food processor combine flour, baking powder, and salt to mix. Scatter butter over mixture and pulse a few times until butter is incorporated about about the size of peas. 

Transfer mixture to large bowl and add eggs and sugar, mix with spatula until dough comes together in shaggy mass. Quickly knead the dough until you have a smooth ball.

Transfer dough to cutting board, cut off about 1/3rd of total weight. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for an hour; refrigerate remaining 2/3rds of dough for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350. 

Cut a 12x15" inch sheet of parchment paper. Remove larger piece of dough from fridge, place it on parchment, and roll out to rectangle 1/2" thick. Transfer paper and dough to sheet pan, and evenly spread the jam over the dough.

Remove smaller piece of dough from frezer and use a large box grater to grate dough evenly over the jam.

Bake the pastry until top is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Cool on wire rack then serve.

VEGETARIAN RUSSIAN POTATO SALAD

A good potato salad is a tremendous thing. It's substantial enough - with the addition of some protein, like the hardboiled eggs in Budmo's Vegetarian Russian Potato Salad, it can be a refreshing snack or even a light lunch by itself. This salad's balance of potatoes, carrot- and pea-forward veg, hard boiled eggs, flavorful herbs, and a delicious and delightfully mischievous mayonnaise-meets-sour cream dressing makes it satisfying without being heavy, and reasonably healthy while still tasting like a proper meal. The addition of a lot of pickles bring additional interest and intensity to the party.

Peeling potatoes that have already been cooked isn't my favorite thing - next time I make this, I suspect I'll peel first, possible crumbling be damned. And despite the recipe cooking carrots and potatoes side-by-side, I found my carrots were overdone 20 minutes into the simmer while my potatoes didn't get to where they needed to be - 30+ minutes might have been better for them. I'd probably test them at 15 and 30 minutes respectively next time. That aside: with this recipe after about an hour of low-intensity work you can assemble a big, hearty, richly flavored, cleverly diversified salad that should satisfy just about anyone.

Vegetarian Russian Potato Salad

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
2 medium carrots, peeled
Salt and pepper
1 cup shelled green peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream
5 hard boiled eggs, peeled
5 medium kosher dill pickles
1/4 chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbsp chopped chives

Combine potatoes and carrots in medium saucepan with water to cover by 2 inches and boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium and cook until vegetables are easily pierced with a knife, 20-25 minutes. Drain and cool.

Boil a small saucepan of water. Fill a small bowl with ice-cold water. Season the boiling water with a pinch of salt, then add peas and blanch until they are bright green, 2 minutes. Drain peas and immerse in ice water until completely cool, 3-5 minutes. Spread peas on paper towel to dry.

Whisk together mayo and sour cream in small bowl.

Cut two of the eggs lengthwise into thick wedges. Peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes, carrots, pickles, and remaining three eggs into 1/4 inch cubes. Transfer them to large bowl. Add mayo dressing, dill, parsley, chives, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Spoon salad onto large platter, garnish with egg wedges, and serve right away. Leftover salad will keep in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

THE VERDICT ON BUDMO! RECIPES FROM A UKRAINIAN KITCHEN
(BUY IT / ***BORROW IT*** / SKIP IT / SCRAP IT)

Unless you've a strong personal connection to Ukraine or a burning curiosity about the region, Budmo! isn't likely to be a must-acquire title - it won't change the way you cook or think about food in a fundamental way. But, that said - it's skillfully written, a joy to look at, and the recipes function well, and it creates a whole suite of mutually supportive foods that anyone could incorporate into their hosting and homemaking. If you think you might like it, get it - it's good.