Foodie Favourites: Eastern Europe

This week, our Foodie Favorites will focus on Eastern Europe and some of their most popular and culturally rich dishes. 

We won't be having a focus on all of the countries within Eastern Europe, so the focus will primarily be on the following countries: 

• Russia
• Ukraine
• Georgia
• Belarus
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Poland

Eastern European countries have a very interesting and maybe even different approach to cooking, hence why it's also an interesting area to dive into.  

If you like pie, you should consider trying out a "Pirog". A Pirog is a Russian pie made from puff pastry, yeast dough, or shortcrust. A Pirog works well with many different fillings; however, meat, cabbage, fruits, and cheese are the most popular choices. A Pirog can be either closed or open-faced but is most often closed.

So if you ever find yourself in Eastern Europe, you HAVE to try Pirogs; they're amazing!  

If you're a cheese lover and planning on going to eastern Europe, you are going to love "Khachapuri".

Khachapuri is a form of boat-shaped bread with all kinds of cheese (from your choosing) and often has an egg on top. The dish is originally from Georgia but is prevalent in several eastern European countries.

Khachapuri is most certainly worth giving a try!

"Pelmeni" is an excellent dish as it can suit the needs of most people. It is dumplings that can be filled with meat, fish, or vegetables. They are available at the majority of all Russia's restaurants, and you should expect them to be different from place to place.

"Borscht" is a soup with a lot of different vegetables and then you can either choose to have it with either fish or meat, although meat is probably the most common of the two. The main ingredient is beetroot which gives Borscht its red color and unique taste.

Borscht's origins are highly controversial, and for that reason, you can also get Borscht in most other Eastern European countries, so there is ample opportunity to try it.

Beef Stroganoff is probably the most well-known dish among all the dishes on this list.

The dish consists of beef, either cut into strips or cubes. They are then cooked in a sauce made from different ingredients such as mustard, onion, stock, etc.

If you think this sounds interesting, you should try cooking Beef Stroganoff yourself, since it's a straightforward process and, at the same time, a lovely dish.

Many dishes known in the West have either origin or inspiration from eastern European dishes, so it is no joke that there is an incredible number of delicious dishes. For that reason, we don't think you should cheat on a lot more dishes worth mentioning.

Below is a list of some exciting dishes that didn't make it to the list above:

• Kefir (Russia)
• Kasha (Russia)
• Mtsvadi (Georgia)
• Zhur (Belarus & Poland)
• Lavash (Armenia)
• Golubtsy (Russia)
• Khinkali (Georgia)
• Zakuski (Russia)
• Bazhe (Georgia)
• Soyutma (Azerbaijan)

As per tradition, we wish you good luck with the food experiences and Bon appetite!