Beetniks (Beet Leaves and Dough)

This is one of my favorite Ukrainian dishes and today I am using my mom's recipe. You take fresh made bread, wrap it in beet leaves to make tiny dumplings and then soak them in a dill cream sauce. It is a staple of every special occasion and you can make the dumplings ahead of time and freeze them for months. We call them beetniks (or beet leaves and dough) and I can never find a recipe on the internet so I am posting one. This is a very local dish, but very rich and tasty. It also is a good use for beet leaves, maybe left over from cooking, say borscht.

Beetniks

Ingredients

• 1 loaf bread dough (I used frozen)
• About 50 small to medium beet leaves (don't use ones that the  bugs have eaten). 
• 1 litre cream
• 1 onion
• 4-6 Tbsp of fresh dill

Instructions

Beetniks

1. Wash the beet leaves. Remove the stems. To dry, spread one layer of leaves between tea towels. You can use leaves that are slightly wilted but don't use leaves that are eaten by bugs.
2. Break off about a walnut sized ball of dough. Place on the rib of the beet leaf and roll up tightly. Repeat until you run out of beet leaves or dough.
3. Let rise until the dough peeks out the edges of each roll. 
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on a greases cookie sheet until golden brown. Fill a roaster with the beetniks. 

Cream Sauce

1. Dice the onion and cook in a generous portion of butter until soft.
2.  Add the cream and the dill and simmer until the sauce thickens. If the sauce does not thicken, fry a little flour with butter and add to the cream. If too thick, add a little more cream. Sauce should be a yellow color.
3. Pour the sauce over the beetniks. Allow the sauce to soak in,(you can heat them up in the oven if you like). Serve.

Beet Borscht

Beet Borscht (beet soup) is a delicious vegetarian soup that my Ukrainian grandmother used to make. Today I am making it using all fresh garden vegetables. Everything, even the garlic, is from the garden(with the exception of the canned tomatoes and beef broth). It is a great recipe because it is so versatile. Don't have peas? Don't use them. Have celery? Throw that in too. The trick is to use lots of beets and lots of dill and the rest sorts itself out.

As a pro tip, beets will stain your kitchen a lovely shade of pink. And your hands. And your wooden spoon. And the handle on the fridge. And your tea towel. So wear an apron and gloves and watch that you don't recolor everything.

Beet Borscht

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup diced potato
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup peas
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cups diced beets (about ten small beets)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 4 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups broth
• Sour cream

Instructions

1. Add all the vegetables and garlic to the soup pot with a little oil. Cook until the onions are clear and everything is died pink, about ten minutes. 
2. Add the broth and dill. Bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes.
3. Garnish with sour cream and serve.