This makes a stickier cake layer than the standard Russian medovik biscuit layer which tastes just as good but isn't probably going to present as well as the latter, due to it's stickiness. After having her son, and filming for The Food Network, Olia has been writing for Sainsbury's, The Recipe Kit, and the Guardian . I have tried 9 of the recipes – all were really easy to follow and to make, and only one (the Stuffed Cage leaves) was not excellent – but I think that was down to me, not the recipe. After having her son, and filming for The Food Network, Olia has been writing for Sainsbury's, The Recipe Kit, and the Guardian.

I did not find they were necessary and the soup was delicious, satisfying and quite filling without them. After spending a year in Italy, Olia settled in London, pursuing a journalistic career after completing her Master’s degree.

Despite my strong Ukrainian identity, I have always cherished and taken pride in the cultural diversity that we were so lucky to enjoy in Ukraine. It was made worse by the fact that Russia was also playing, and many of my cookbooks did not differentiate between Russian and Ukrainian food (or that of any other ex-Soviet country). A really engaging style and an obvious passion for food and family add to the attractiveness of the offerings in this lovely book. I keep meaning to try with demerara or turbinado, but they turn out so nicely with regular old granulated, too.

This dish is something our whole extended family adopted: silky noodles, pulled goose and its juices. I'd also suggest to youtube the name of the biscuit to learn about the shaping as the explanation is very vague. I highly recommend this fabulous book to any food lover, food traveller or cook - absolutely inspiring! Traditionally, we use firm white cabbage leaves here, so if you want more of a traditional taste, please use those instead of the Savoy. Finally, I used the beef short ribs, but they were pretty fatty and wouldn't be my choice next time.

This book is a fine presentation of the most wonderful and distinctively delicate and flavourful (unfortunately lesser known) cuisine of Ukraine and beyond. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, as the Soviet Union was much bigger than Western Europe, and France (or Italy) alone have so many traditional foods specific to tiny regions. I suspected without weights for the ingredients especially the salt and water that this recipe would fail.

One of those things that you wouldn't have thought to combine but make so much sense when you think about it. To test that the poussins are cooked, pull away at the legs – they should come away easily and the juices should run clear. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. This book is an ode to all those women (and men) that I was raised by and grew up with, and the food they lovingly prepared.Tonight, I am having the second helping of the beautiful “Cold Beetroot Soup” – an amazing rich ruby red colour, which would be perfect to serve to visiting Vegans (or anyone else!