Three-Course Ukrainian Dinner

In my last post, I shared the Ukrainian tablescape that I set to celebrate Ukraine Independence Day.

And today, I want to share what we had for dinner than night.



For the first course we had borscht (a beetroot soup that is popular in many East-European countries). I learned to make borscht a long time ago and I cook it quite often. However, making the same old borsht for a special dinner wouldn’t be any special!
So I searched the web for a new and exciting recipe, and I found it here. At first, I was skeptical about the recipe, but it turned out pretty good and my family liked it.
This is my official special occasion borscht recipe now!



For the second course, we had cabbage rolls and boiled potatoes. Cabbage rolls (another dish common in Ukraine) consist of meat and grain filling (such as beef and rice, or pork and barley) wrapped in cooked cabbage leaves.
My family is vegetarian, so I had to get creative about the filling. I substituted ground beef with vegetarian Morning Star crumbles. I must admit I wasn’t too happy about it, I think next time I will omit meat altogether and add more seasoning. Anyway, you can see the original recipe here.



For the sweet course, we had thin pancakes that are similar to crepes. In Russian they are called blini, and if memory serves me right in Ukrainian they are called nalesniki. I learned to make them when I was a little girl, so I don’t follow a measured recipe and don’t have one to share with you today.

I served my blini with homemade plum jam that I made just the day before. The plums came from my (neighbor’s) garden; they weren’t very big but very sweet. I followed the measuring from this recipe, but I didn’t peel my plums as suggested in the recipe.



I now only have to tell you what we drank during our celebration. My husband suggested Horilka (Ukrainian vodka), but I did not approve. Instead, I made a fruit drink that I remember my mom and grandmother making back in Ukraine. It’s kind of like fruit punch. It’s made by boiling fresh fruits in a big amount of water. When the fruits release their juices and aromas, sugar is added. The drink is strained and chilled, and the fruits are discarded.

And this was our traditional Ukraine Independence Day celebration dinner! It might sound simple, but it actually took me two days to make it!

I’m joining Stone Gable for On the Menu Monday Link Party.