Darina Allen: Cook for Ukraine with traditional recipes inspired by chef Olia Hercules 

And how you can help to raise money by baking 

Kyiv cake, Ukrainian pastries and spatchcock chicken with grapes and blackberries.

Not sure about you but I can scarcely enjoy a meal without feeling guilty at present. I feel so fortunate to be able to wake up in the morning in my warm bed secure in the thought that it is unlikely that our house will be bombed before nightfall — I can’t get the images out of my head. Cold and hungry people trudging towards the border with the few possessions they can carry in sub-zero temperatures clutching a shivering cat or a terrified child.

No doubt, like you too, we were desperate to do something to help in some way so Rory, Rachel and I did an online cookery demonstration and raised over €13,000 for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal. One of our students, Grainne O’Higgins baked brownies, invited people to help themselves and perhaps donate — her little project raised €128. 

Tessa Lomas who has spent many years on the south coast of Sri Lanka showed her fellow students how to make Sri Lankan roti filled with curried mince or cheese and tomato as well as tasty hoppers and several sambals. They were all super delicious and once again raised just over €200 for the Irish Red Cross. Let’s all ask ourselves what we can do. Every little helps, companies all over the country are donating food. Ballymaloe Relish has sent a palette of pasta sauce to Ukraine. 

The Sheridan brothers have mobilised the cheesemakers and cheese factories who have generously donated tons of cheese, Flahavan’s porridge oats and a palette of Barry’s tea is also winging its way to the Ukraine. Many of us didn’t even know where Ukraine was until a few weeks ago, now we know the names of all its major cities, the colour of its flag and the sound of its national anthem…get the kids involved as well – they’ll come up with lots of ideas.

We have learned so much about the food of Ukraine, thanks to Olia Hercules, the beautiful, young Ukrainian cook living in London whose parents and brother are trapped in Kyiv at present. For the cookery demonstration, Rachel cooked Ukrainian ‘Angel Wings’ with Black Cardamom and homemade dulce de leche (called Anna’s Sweet Milk). Rory cooked Spatchcock Chicken with Blackberry and Grape Sauce. 

Both Rory and Rachel’s recipes were inspired by Olia’s cookbooks ‘Mamushka’ and ‘Kaukasis The Cookbook’ published by Mitchell Beazley.

Spatchcock chicken with blackberries and grapes

recipe by:Darina Allen

A new and delicious way to serve chicken

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Ukrainian

Ingredients

• 1 whole free-range organic chicken

• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

• chopped rosemary or thyme leaves

• extra virgin olive oil or butter

• a few cloves of garlic

• For the sauce:

• 100g seedless grapes

• 300g blackberries

• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

• 2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon chopped marjoram

• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves and stalks

• pinch of chopped dill

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• extra sprigs of coriander and dill for garnish

Method

1. Insert a heavy chopping knife into the cavity of the chicken from the back end to the neck. Press down sharply to cut through the backbone. Alternatively place the chicken breast side down on the chopping board, using poultry shears cut along the entire length of the backbone as close to the centre as possible.

2. Open the bird out as much as possible. Slash each chicken leg two or three times with a sharp knife. Season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper, sprinkle with chopped rosemary or thyme and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

3. Transfer to a roasting tin. Turn skin side upwards and tuck the whole garlic cloves underneath. Roast on the barbeque or in a preheated oven 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4 for 40 minutes approximately. Check the colour of the juices between the thigh and the breast – they should run clean if the chicken is cooked.

4. To make the sauce, place the grapes and blackberries in a blender and render to a smooth purée. Pass through a sieve and place in a small saucepan. Add the pomegranate molasses, season with salt and pepper and bring to a bare simmer. Add in the garlic, cayenne and marjoram and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. Finally, add the coriander and dill. Taste and correct seasoning.

5. Serve the sauce hot with the carved chicken and its cooking juices and sprinkled with a few sprigs of coriander and dill.

Angel's Wings - Ukrainian fried pastries with black cardamom

recipe by:Darina Allen

These are Ukrainian ‘angel wing’ pastry crisps. Originally, they used to be fried in lard (think of Portuguese pastel de nata lard pastry). I add some ground black cardamom seeds to the sugar, but feel free to use vanilla sugar instead.

Servings

40

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Ukrainian

Ingredients

• 250g (8oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• pinch of bicarbonate of soda

• 50g (2oz) butter, cubed and chilled

• 1 egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 25g (1oz) caster sugar

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 50g (2oz) soured cream

• 1 tbsp vodka

• pinch of salt

• 250ml (9fl oz) sunflower oil

• 50g (2oz) icing sugar, sifted

• 5 black cardamom pods, crushed and seeds extracted, then ground into a powder

• dulce de leche or chocolate sauce, to serve

Method

1. To make the dough, mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda together, then run in the butter with your fingertips until well combined.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vinegar, soured cream, vodka and salt, then mix well into a firm pastry dough.

3. Flour your work surface really well and divide the dough into two pieces. Roll one piece of dough out as thinly as you can. Slice the dough into 4cm (1 ½ inch) strips and then diagonally across so that you end up with 20 diamonds. Make a 3cm (1 ¼ inch) slash in the centre of each diamond and pull one of the ends through the slash. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

4. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium saucepan until very hot – be very careful with hot oil, placing it at the back of the hob if you have kids or crazy pets. Line a large plate with some kitchen paper.

5. Drop the diamonds in carefully and fry them briefly until they float to the surface. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on the kitchen paper.

6. Mix the icing sugar with the cardamom and sprinkle over the pastries. I also like to treat these as nicely as I treat churros, dipping them into dulce de leche or chocolate sauce before devouring.
   
   Taken from ‘Mamushka’ by Olia Hercules published by Mitchell Beazley

Kyiv cake

Kyiv cake originated in Kyiv in Ukraine back in the 1950s. Two layers of light sponge, slathered with apricot jam and sandwiched together with a layer of crunchy meringue and iced with chocolate or coffee buttercream.

Servings

12

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Ukrainian

Ingredients

• 4 organic eggs

• 100g caster sugar

• 110g plain white flour

• 50g clarified butter, melted

• 1 x 23xm (9 inches) disc of hazelnut meringue made with:

• 45g (scant 2oz) whole hazelnuts, roasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

• 2 egg whites, preferably free-range

• 110g (4oz) icing sugar

• 8 tablespoons apricot jam

• Chocolate buttercream Icing

• Hazelnut praline 

Method

1. First make the genoise. Prepare 1 x 23cm (9 inch) round genoise tin, greased and lined with silicone paper Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour into the mixture in three batches, folding each batch as lightly as possible with a wooden spatula or wooden spoon. Just after the last batch, pour the cooled, clarified butter around the side of the bowl and fold in gently and quickly (because the whisked mixture quickly loses volume after the butter is added.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool. When cold, divide the cake in half horizontally with a serrated bread knife.

4. To Roast the hazelnuts. Roast the hazelnuts at 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4 for 10 mins or until golden. Rub off the skins in a tea-towel.

5. Allow to cool, chop coarsely to fold into the meringue.

6. To make the hazelnut meringue.

7. Draw a 23cm (9 inch) circle on a sheet of parchment paper. Check that the bowl is dry, spotlessly clean and free from grease. Mix all the icing sugar with the egg whites in the bowl, whisk until the mixture forms stiff dry peaks. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts quickly. Spread the meringue evenly over the circle with a palette knife. Bake immediately in a cool fan oven, 120˚C/250˚F/Gas Mark 1/2 for 45 minutes or until crisp. Turn off the oven and allow to cool. The meringue disc should peel easily off the silicone paper.

8. To assemble the cake. Put a layer of sponge on a plate. Slather the base of both sponges with some apricot jam. Add a layer of chocolate buttercream. Top with the meringue disc. Spread with buttercream and add the final layer of sponge, apricot jam side downwards. Ice the sides and top of the cake generously with the chocolate buttercream. Decorate with a few rosettes of icing and add lots of coarsely chopped hazelnut praline to the sides and around the outer edge of top of the cake. Decorate with a few whole hazelnut praline. Allow to sit for several hours or overnight to soften. Enjoy.

HOT TIPS

Springfest – a date for your diary:

The West Limerick Food Group is hosting a Springfest on the Limerick Greenway at The Barnagh Greenway Hub on April 6th 2022. From 1-6pm, there will be a food and craft fayre showcasing the food, beverage and hospitality offerings in the Limerick area including guest speakers, craft and food demonstrations throughout the afternoon.

Tickets are available on www.eventbrite.ie

Burren Slow Food Festival

I’m a great admirer of Co. Clare’s creative initiatives. The Burren Slow Food Festival is back again this year taking place from May 20 to May 22. This year’s festival is dedicated to raising awareness about and promoting the concept of ‘GEOfood’. GEOfood is sustainable local food from a unique geological area and is the official brand of food produced in a UNESCO Global Geopark. Festival organisers, Slow Food Clare are collaborating with the Burren and Cliff of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark and the Burren Ecotourism Network to deliver a diverse line up of events in the region aimed at highlighting the connections between local food, geological heritage and the livelihoods of the people who live in the Geopark. Festival favourites will include the popular seafood supper on Inis Oirr, cookery demonstrations by local chefs using ingredients from the designated GEOfood area and talks by guest speakers.

For more information, see www.slowfoodclare.com

Book of the Week

Sustainable Food Gardens; Myths and Solutions

This book, Sustainable Food Gardens; Myths and Solutions, is the culmination of a lifetime’s work by author Robert Kourik published by Metamorphic Press. So many of the fundamental questions we anguish over – from the best ways to plant trees to mulching – are examined rationally – allowing us to draw our own conclusions. It is thought-provoking and compelling... and although much is USA based, so many of the principles, and the fundamental research cited, is universal in application – not cheap but brilliant.