Varenyky with Cherries
What could we write about Varenyky that we haven’t already written? We’ve covered this dish – one of the titans of Ukrainian cuisine – several times in the past:
Varenyky Recipe | An Introduction to Varenyky | "Lazy" Varenyky | Strawberry Varenyky
As it turns out, there's always more to write about this iconic dish! In fact, it occurred to us today – as we near the end of absolute peak cherry season – that we haven’t provided a recipe for one of the most popular forms of Varenyky. It's a true classic that is on the lips (literally?) of Ukrainians all the time: Varenyky with Cherries.
Be it cherry liqueur (Vyshniak) or cake (Drunken Cherry Cake) Ukrainians are truly wild about their cherries. Consider this cozy excerpt from Taras Shevchenko’s famous poem “Beside the House, the Cherries Blossom”:
A little cherry orchard blossoms by a peasant house,
Above the trees the maybugs hum,
Plowmen haul the plow from the furrows,
The young girls all hasten homeward, singing,
And mothers prepare a meal for them.
Alas, that poem was the subject of one of the very first sunrise posts, all the way back on Day 28. Sigh.
If you’d like some in-depth Varenykology (there is a lot of mystery and intrigue to this dish!), please see the previous posts above. For now, though, we’re going to dive straight into this delicious recipe with no delay!
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How to Make Sour Cherry Varenyky
Recipe from Klopotenko.com
Dough Ingredients
- 250 ml / 1 cup kefir or thin plain yoghurt
- 450 g / 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 0.5 tsp. salt
- 0.5 tsp. sugar
- 0.5 tsp. baking soda
- 1 egg
- 100 ml / 0.4 cup sour cream (for serving)
Filling Ingredients
- 400 g / 1 lb. sour cherries
- 1 tbsp. semolina
- 2-3 tbsp. sugar
- 50 g / 3½ tbsp. unsalted butter
Step 1: Making the dough: Mix flour with eggs, salt, sugar, kefir or thin plain yoghurt and baking soda. The dough has to be soft, elastic and not sticky. Form a dough ball, move gently to an oiled bowl, and cover with a towel. Leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes.
Step 2: In the meantime, make the filling. Pit the cherries (if you are cooking the varenyky out of season, defrost the cherries first). Add 1 tbsp. sugar and semolina.
Step 3: Fold the varenyky by wrapping about a tablespoonful of cherries in a rolled out piece of dough. You can add decorative pleats to the edge when folding the varenyky together.
Step 4: Cook in salted water until the varenyky float to the top. Remove them from boiling water and sprinkle them with sugar to make sure that they don’t stick. Drizzle with melted unsalted butter.
Step 5: Serve with sour cream or Kysil.
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Смачного!
Part of our series on Ukrainian recipes! You can find the other entries in the series here:
Borshch | Varenyky (Recipe) | Varenyky Cultural Background | Horilka | Banosh | Hrechanyky | Kyivskyi Cake | Makivnyk | Vyshnyak | Drunken Cherry Cake | Varenukha | Pumpkin Porridge | Lazy Varenyky | Holubtsi | Kalach | Kvas | Christmas Borshch | Uzvar | Kutya | Beetroot Salad | Kapusnyak (Traditional) | Nalysnyk | Bublyk | Deruny | Wild Mushroom Sauce | Kozak Kapusnyak | Yavorivskyi Pie | Spring Dough Birds | Kholodets | Easter Bread (Babka/Paska) | Khrin & Tsvikli | Shpundra | Teterya | Green Borshch | Kalatusha | Elderflower Kvas | Crimean Tatar Chebureky | Ryazhanka | Verhuny | Liubystok (Lovage) | Young Borshch with Hychka | Baturyn Cookies | Strawberry Varenyky | Stinging Nettle Pancakes | Kholodnyk | Syrnyky | Salo | Kotleta Po Kyivsky (Chicken Kyiv) | Savory Garlic Pampushky | Pampukh (Donuts) | Halushky | Odesa Borshch | Korovai | Hombovtsi | Traditional Medivnyk | Space Age Medivnyk | Mandryk | Pliatsky: Royal Cherry | Ohirkivka (Pickle Soup) | Benderyky | Pliatsok "Hutsulka" | Kruchenyky | Vereshchaka | Medivka | Honey Cookies | Fuchky | Khrinovukha | Knysh | Bryndzya | Kalyta | Pasulya Pidbyvana | Kapusnyak (Easy) | Kvasha | Kachana Kasha | Mazuryky | The Ponchyky of Lake Svitiaz | Rosivnytsia | Kulish | Shcherba | Dandelion Honey | Sandy Varenyky | Potaptsi | Kasha Zozulya | Tovchanka | Cherry Kompot | Crimean Tatar Coffee Culture | Stewed Cabbage with Prunes & Walnuts | Grated Pie with Fresh Strawberries | New Potatoes with Dill | Kysil | Zucchini Deruny | Manna Kasha
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The 907th day of a ten-year invasion that has been going on for centuries.
One day closer to victory.
🇺🇦 HEROIAM SLAVA! 🇺🇦
by duellingislands
2 comments
Hey u/duellingislands you forgot Sandy Varenyky! It is very suspect….Are you trying to hide this dish just for yourself?
Varenyky with sour cherries are so good! I’d eat them by the kg if my wife would let me.