A new tradition, a new foray into food we don't really understand but want to eat anyway: Sviata Vechera 2007!Or, in translation, our version of a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve Supper, where "we" are the Figtree denizens + the AS' brother, The Curator, and me. Held on Jan 6 because of calendar shifts, the meal traditionally has 12 dishes and is a solemn, mystical affair you can read more about here: http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/holidays/christmas/ukraine.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-dish_Christmas_Eve_supper
Our version had a few fewer dishes and a lot less solemnity, but was tasty and exciting nonetheless.
We started off with a joint Fairway expedition to stock up, plus some provisions I had brought specially from Canada, and the delightful bread dough The Curator had made in advance. Once back in the kitchen, we lost no time in shaping this fine dough, destined for kolach, or the traditional round braided bread gracing the t
able with a red candle atop it (see below).Our fingers were busy throughout with many details, from the Atomic Squid's cabbage rolls lovingly tied together with chives, to the irregularly-but-lovingly-shaped pyrohy brought into being by the paws of one yours wombat truly.
The final menu consisted of the traditional first course of kutia, wheat berries cooked with honey and poppy seeds, heavy with symbolism I'm a little fuzzy on, but thankfully also rather delicious. We tried to keep the portions small out of initial skepticism and the many dishes to follow, but in fact everyone asked for seconds! *a decorous cheer*
Following the kutia we had a nice bowl of borscht, made vegetarian as is traditional for this meal, which should have fish but no meat or other animal fats (we did cheat and include butter in some dishes). There were several beetroot skeptics in the assembled audience, but the deeply pink soup was well received by all, especially with its garnishes of sour cream, fresh dill and chives. The photo doesn't show off how lovely the garnishes actually were, but hey, we were hungry!
After the borscht, the main courses together. First, there was a very Ukrainian, er, Southeast Asian style fish baked in a banana leaf. There were actually two fishes, one red snapper and one porgy, although in
fact the poor porgy was passed over as our straining stomachs protested its unwrapping. These were stuffed with a mixture of the Atomic Squid's devising, involving lime, leek, tomato, lemongrass, and other exciting flavours - in fact it might have been the most exquisitely flavoured fish I have ever had.The fish had plenty of company. For something a little more Eastern European there was some nice pickled herring, as well as the aforementioned cabbage rolls. They had a rice stuffing and were baked in a tomato-eggplant stew, to great tastiness. The traditional meal is accompanied by many vegetable sides, represented here by some sautéed mushrooms and some simply beautiful kale in garlic and a bit of veggie stock.
The (in my mind at least) essential element was the pyrohy or perogies - two flavours of them. One was a plain potato mash, but with roasted garlic for a full flavour, and the other was plain mash with a considerable quantity of orange cheddar grated into it - I confess these are my favourite. Vareniki are the boiled version, and then some of these were taken and pan-fried to a slight crispiness before being served with sour cream and fried onions.All this inhaled in company with generous slices of the beautiful kolach. Kolach by itself would make a festive meal. It's similar to both challah and brioche but has a particular te
xture and rich flavour all its own.After all this we had to take a break, wherein The Curator was initiated into the Revolutionary Knitters' Circle and also the Fanatical Watchers of Kath and Kim Club (an excellent Australian sitcom). Amid all the excitement we were able to worry down some dessert - a traditional dried fruit compote made with honey by the Grand Pademelon, and the utterly nontraditional key lime pie made by Steve (on which more later), before dispersing to our diverse locations and collapsing on our beds to relive Sviata Vechera in our dreams. It was quite a few hours of work and I felt a bit guilty for not having researched it more thoroughly, but however inauthentic it was a truly festive meal. And then there were the leftovers... :-)
