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.

Stuffed cabbage rolls

Golubtsy are Ukrainian cabbage rolls. The filling is mainly rice with a small amount of hamburger (unlike other East European cabbage rolls which are mainly hamburger with a small amount of rice). The Golubtsy are placed in a large pot, covered with tomato sauce and baked. The word "golub" in Ukrainian means "dove"; Golubtsi are made in the shape of a dove.

Are you hungry? Have you had dinner yet? Like to try Ukrainian Golubtsy? Vilena from Kharkov makes them so yummy!

Ingredients:
Whole head cabbage (about 4 pounds)
boiling salted water
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound ground fresh pork
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 tteaspoons salt
1/4 ts pepper
2 cans (about 10 ounces each) condensed tomato soup
2 1/2 cups water

Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling salted water. Cover; cook for 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves (about 30). Cut thick center stem from each leaf. Chop remaining cabbage. Sautee onion in oil. Add meat, rice salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Place a heaping tablespoonful of meat mixture on each cabbage leaf. Tuck sides over filling while rolling leaf around filling. Secure with wooden picks. Place half the chopped cabbage on bottom of a large Dutch oven. Fill with layers of the cabbage rolls. Cover with remaining chopped cabbage. Combine tomato soup with water; mix until smooth. Pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Serve cabbage rolls with the sauce.

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.