Ukrainian Regional Cuisine. Part 2: Halychyna

Our culinary journey through Ukraine continues. Our next stop is Halychyna, which encompasses the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions. From the rolling uplands of Opillia to the Carpathian Mountains, the geography of this part of Ukraine has shaped Halychyna’s rich culinary traditions. These lands carry the legacy of the Kyivan State and the Galicia–Volhynia State. From the 14th century, they were largely under the rule of the Kingdom of Poland and later became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1772, they came under the Habsburg monarchy, which became Austria-Hungary in 1867. Austrian, Polish, Jewish and Hungarian influences helped shape Halychyna’s food culture, bringing together an urban coffee culture with fine pastries and a rich tradition of peasant cooking.

Halychyna’s borshch is known for its deep beetroot flavour, thanks to naturally fermented beetroot kvas. Tomatoes and sweet peppers are generally left out, while plenty of wild mushrooms and beans are added instead. At Christmas, borshch is traditionally served with vushka — tiny mushroom-filled dumplings added directly to the hot broth.

In Halychyna, varenyky are made large and are known locally as pyrohy. They can be filled with potatoes and cheese or buckwheat and mushrooms, and are served with a thick mushroom sauce. Sweet varenyky filled with seasonal berries are also made.

Meat-filled holubtsi (cabbage rolls) are usually large, but Halychyna also has distinctive versions filled with raw grated potatoes or buckwheat and mushrooms. They are cooked slowly in a special sauce without tomatoes, which makes them tender and gives them a distinctive flavour.

Uzvar is a traditional drink made with dried apples, pears and plums, along with cinnamon, cloves and zest. In summer, people also make drinks using Carpathian herbs such as thyme and mint, along with other aromatic plants.

Pliatsok holds a special place in Halychyna’s baking tradition. Its name comes from the German word Platz, meaning a flat cake or other dough-based baked good, and entered Ukrainian through Polish and Czech. This dessert often has several layers in different colours. The well-known pliatsok “Vyshyvanka” takes its name from the patterns and colours visible in each slice, which recreate the motifs of Ukrainian embroidery.

Traditional vushka for borshch

Dough: 300 g wheat flour, 150 ml water, 1 tablespoon of oil, a pinch of salt.

Filling: 100 g dried porcini mushrooms (weighed before soaking and boiling), or a mixture of king oyster mushrooms and dried shiitake mushrooms that have been soaked and boiled; 1 sautéed onion, salt and black pepper.

Method: Soak and boil the dried mushrooms beforehand. Knead the dough until elastic, then roll it out thinly. Finely chop the mushrooms and combine them with the onion and seasonings. Cut the dough into small squares, add a little filling, fold each square into a triangle and join the opposite corners. Boil the vushka in boiling salted water until cooked.

Smachnoho — enjoy your meal!