Top 10 Ukrainian Meatless Dishes

Top 10 Ukrainian Meatless Dishes

Ukrainian cuisine is well-known for its diverse, nutritious and tasty dishes. Usually, when talking about Ukrainian culinary wonders, we instantly mention meat dishes such as delicious borsch and fragrant salo with garlic. However, gastronomic traditions of Ukraine also embrace many attractive options for those who prefer vegetarian food. Appetizing desserts with berries, vegetable soups, potato pancakes with sour cream… Surprisingly, Ukrainian cuisine turns out to be a gift for any vegetarian! Let`s find out which Ukrainian meatless dishes are definitely worth trying.

Meatless Borsch with Beans and Mushrooms
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Borsch with beans and mushrooms is a great alternative to traditional borsch with meat. This palatable and healthy dish is a perfect choice for vegetarian dinner. To cook this dish, you can use any kind of mushrooms, but porcini mushrooms are the most preferable. Porcini mushrooms are traditional product that was used in the ancient Rus for cooking fast soups. Meatless borsch can be made with fresh, dried or frozen mushrooms. Beans for vegetarian borsch must be prepared in advance. It is required to wash them and to put into water for a night before cooking, which will save much time. Beans used for meatless borsch can be canned or fresh ones – the dish will taste good anyway.
Read: Best Ukrainian Traditional Food
Potato Pancakes (Deruny)
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Traditional national Ukrainian meatless dish called “deruny” can be described as smooth delicious potato pancakes with crispy crust. This dish is popular in all Slavic countries and has many names. In Ukraine, deruny can be also called dranyky, tertyukhy and cremzlyky. The technology of cooking appetizing deruny is rather simple: chopped potatoes are mixed with eggs, dough, onions, garlic and species, and then they have to be fried like regular pancakes. Ready dish is usually served with sour cream. Juicy deruny are appreciated both by grown-ups and kids as an excellent option for a breakfast or dinner.
Pumpkin Porridge
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Sweet pumpkin porridge with rice and milk is a delicious and nutritious dish that perfectly fits for a healthy breakfast. This dish stills hunger for a long time, so if you eat it for breakfast, you will completely forget about food until dinnertime. Pumpkin porridge includes many vitamins and minerals that are essentially important for appropriate functioning of human body. Pumpkin, rice and milk perfectly match together, creating wonderful taste. Apart from traditional ingredients, pumpkin porridge recipe can be enriched by vanillin, raisins, nuts, honey or berries.
Read: 10 Best Ukrainian Desserts
Cherry Dumplings (Varenyky)
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Dumplings (varenyky) is one of the most popular traditional Ukrainian dishes. The recipe of this dish is so old so no one knows exactly in which century Slavic people started to cook it. Varenyky are boiled products of a particular oblong shape made of non-fermented dough with various fillings such as potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage and many other. Sweet delicious varenyky with cherries is one of the best summer dishes, easy to cook and a real pleasure to eat. Cherry dumplings are served with cherry sauce or sour cream.
Halushky
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Halushky is a famous Ukrainian dish made of dough pieces boiled in water. Halushky can be served as a separate dish as well as a side dish; they can also be a part of soup. Simple halushky are cooked without filling, while more complicated recipes include mushrooms, potatoes and so on. This dish is especially popular and well-cooked in Poltava oblast of Ukraine. Here you can try special Poltava halushky, attend Halushka festival and even take a picture near funny Halushka monument.
Read: Where to Find Raw Food Restaurants in Kyiv
Chernihiv Pancakes
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The old recipe of these delicious thin pancakes comes from the villages of Chernihiv oblast in Ukraine. Such pancakes consist of large amounts of curd and sour cream. It is essential to add dried fruits. In modern times, Chernihiv pancakes can be cooked with different sweet fillings made of milk, sugar, rum, orange peel, raisins, berries and chocolate. This dessert is a true gift for any sweet tooth.
“Huzulska Varya” Salad
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The name of this salad already contains information about its origins: this Ukrainian vegetarian dish comes from the lands of Huzuls in Bukovina. This simple and delicious salad is a good choice for the period of fasting and a great addition to menu of any vegetarian and healthy food lover. The dish is made of mixed boiled beet, beans and dried plums. Just add a few drops of sunflower oil – and “Huzulska Varya” salad is ready to be served.
Curd Pancakes (Syrnyky)
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Syrnyky, another pearl of Ukrainian culinary scene, are fried pancakes made of curd mixed with dough, semolina and eggs. Syrnyky are usually fried on salad oil, but some recipes required baking in oven. The most popular types of these pancakes are syrnyky without filling and with raising, but syrnyky with carrot, dried apricots, apples, pears, nuts and potatoes are also worth trying. In rare cases, syrnyky are cooked with green onions and fennel. Sweet syrnyky are served to the table with condensed milk, sour cream or jam, while ketchup or mayonnaise perfectly match salty syrnyky.
Beet Salad with Nuts
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It is very easy to cook this salubrious salad – you do not have to be a master chef or to buy expensive products for it. All you need is few walnuts, beets, garlic, dried plums, salt, pepper and herbs. Despite its simplicity, this light salad is very tasty and suitable both for regular and festive dinner. You can cook this salad with mayonnaise or with sunflower oil. The latter variant is especially good for children menu.
Plyacky
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Galicia region is famous for plyacky – a delicious authentic dessert. To make plyacky, Galician cooks bake a high multi-layer cake with cream, icing and various sweet fillings, and then slice it into separate rectangular pieces. This dessert is very similar to a regular cake, but is easier to cook. Plyacky are usually served for festive events with fragrant coffee.
Delicious Ukrainian vegetarian dishes are perfect both for health and mood. Enjoy your meal!
Photo source: shutterstock.com, cookorama.net. All photos belong to their rightful owners.

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