Ukrainian and international home cooking recipes
Vegetables browned over glowing coals disappear from the platter faster than the meat at any cookout. The dish comes from the Caucasian and Mediterranean mangal (open-charcoal grill) tradition, where vegetables cook right beside the kebabs over the same coals: pumpkin and zucchini turn tender and faintly sweet in the smoke, bell pepper picks up a […]
Don’t rush this one. The 6-hour salting of the green tomatoes isn’t busywork — it’s the step that pulls the harsh bitterness out of the unripe fruit. Skip it and the sauce carries an off taste you can’t fix later. The base is unusual: green tomatoes, the ones still on the vine when autumn frost […]
Grilled vegetables with lamb kebabs is a juicy summer barbecue dish in which the smoky aroma of the grill brings together two contrasts: light marinated vegetables and a rich meat mixture made with tail fat. Zucchini, bell pepper, tomato, and shiitake mushrooms give up their moisture and caramelize, while the kebabs stay juicy thanks to […]
This homemade adjika isn’t a fiery raw paste but a cooked vegetable preserve of tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, apples, and walnuts. Adjika is a Caucasian (Georgian-Abkhaz) condiment, and this is its “mild” incarnation: an all-purpose sauce for meat, poultry, and potatoes, or a simple spread for bread. You dial the heat up or down by […]
Set your expectations first: despite the name, this adjika is closer to a thick vegetable sauce than a fiery condiment. The carrot and tart apples aren’t here for heat — they bring natural sweetness and a velvety body. Tomatoes give the acidic base, garlic the bite, and a single hot-pepper pod adds just enough fire […]
A cold adjika with no cooking at all: all the heat comes from raw horseradish and garlic, while tart apples and the tomatoes’ own acidity stand in for vinegar as the preservative. Since nothing is heated, there are none of those “cooked” notes, and the flavor stays sharp and garden-fresh. Adjika, for the uninitiated, is […]
A classic backyard grill mix: lamb and pork share the same skewers, interleaved with whole tomatoes and large chunks of two kinds of onion. Pork brings juiciness and tenderness, lamb a denser texture and characteristic aroma, while the tomatoes burst a little as they roast and baste the meat with their tart juice. What matters […]
This is the fiercest adjika of the lot — raw, meaning nothing is cooked at all, so the full force of fresh garlic, hot chile, and horseradish stays untamed. Adjika is a Caucasian condiment, and this version simply grinds the vegetables, salts and sweetens them, and covers everything in vinegar. Because there’s no heat, it […]
Unlike tomato sauces that simmer for hours, this ajika is done almost immediately: every vegetable goes through the meat grinder and cooks for just 15 to 20 minutes. Vinegar does the preserving, so jars keep well even at room temperature, and the flavor lands bright, hot, and faintly sweet from the sugar and onion. Fifteen […]
Adjika is a fiery Caucasian condiment, and this version leans on the tug-of-war between tart and sweet: fruit vinegar instead of plain table vinegar gives a softer, more fragrant acidity, while a full cup of sugar tames the heat of three hot pepper pods. The garlic goes in with a heavy hand — a whole […]