How about a plate of Ukrainian borsch? Nothing can warm your heart and stomach better than this traditional soup.

Borsch is beet soup and can be described as the national soup of Ukraine. Filled with beets and other vegetables from a typical Ukrainian garden, it is a hearty soup which could be found on almost every dinner table. Here is one of more than 500 versions of borsch recipes.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound salt pork, diced
1 large leek, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 celery or parsley root (about 6 ounces), peeled and cut in thin strips
3 beets (about 1/2 pound), peeled and shredded
1/2 heads of cabbage (about 1/2 pound), thinly sliced
2 quarts water
1 1/2 pounds cooked meat such as Kielbasa (Polish sausage), ham, beef, or pork, diced
1 can (8 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 cup rye flour "kvas"
2 tablespoon white flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 ts pepper
1 1/2 ts lemon juice or vinegar
1 c whipping cream or dairy sour cream horseradish (optional)

Fry salt pork until golden in a 5-quart pot. Add leeks and onion. Fry until onion is transparent. Add celery root, beets, cabbage, water, and meat. Cook until celery root is crisp tender; about 25 minutes. Add tomatos and kvas, mix. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Make a smooth paste of butter and flour and stir into the simmering soup. Cook and stir until soup thickens. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice; mix in. To serve, spoon a small amount of cream and horseradish into each bowl. Ladle hot soup into bowl and stir to blend with the cream and horseradish.

Kiev is the capital of Ukraine. Chicken Kiev is a chicken breast cutlet with butter in the middle and named after the capital. It became famous throughout the world, and with it, the name of the capital of Ukraine.
Maria from Nikolaev will surely do a first-class job making this traditional Ukrainian meal for you.

Ingredients:
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 eggs
3 tb water
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 lemon, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Place each chicken breast between a sheet of wax paper and pound using a mallet or rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness; be careful not to 'break' the chicken. Wrap and refrigerate until seasoned butter is frozen. In a small bowl combine the softened butter, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder and mix well. Spread mixture into a 2x4 inch rectangle on a piece of aluminum foil; freeze until firm. Cut it into 8 equal size pieces and place one piece on each chicken breast. Fold in edges of chicken and roll to encase butter completely. Secure with toothpicks. In a small bowl, beat eggs with water. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, dill weed and flour. Place bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish or bowl. Dip chicken rolls in seasoned flour, then egg mixture, then crumbs. Place coated chicken in a shallow dish, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, deep fry chicken rolls for about 5 minutes, then turn over and deep fry for another 5 minutes until golden and cooked through, with no pink showing inside. Drain on paper towels, garnish with lemon slices and parsley and serve. Put the bone into the cutlet and wrap a napkin around it.

Ukrainian donuts

Pompushky resemble Pepperidge farm's rolls. There are no holidays without Pompushky. Every region of Ukraine has its own recipes and traditions of baking them.

It takes a lot of patience and skills to make them. However, we are sure your sweet Ukrainian lady will succeed in pleasing you with the perfect Pompushky!

Ingredients:
8 cups flour
2 pkgs yeast
3 cups milk
2 tb olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoons salt

Let yeast stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, put in part of the flour (about 6 cups), making a well in the middle. Beat the eggs lightly, add melted butter, milk, sugar and salt. Add this mixture to the flour along with yeast. Mix well and knead until dough is soft and not sticky adding the remaining flour only as necessary. Knead about 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Punch down and knead lightly. Let it rise again. Take a small amount of dough; roll on a lightly floured table. It must be fairly thick. Cut out rounds, coffee mugs work well. Place a small amount of filling in the center bringing the edges together and pinch well to seal tightly. Place Pompushky seam side down on lightly floured surface, cover and let rise a while, for about 15 minutes. Do not let over rise. Fry in oil, about 375F for about 3 minutes, turning them to brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.