It is a mouth-watering and aromatic soup made from peas. This dish is delicious, pottage-like and rich. Many world cuisines have its own traditional pea soups – the Ukrainian one boasts the lean pea soup, or one made with smoked foods.

If you've read 'Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka' by Russian classical writer Nikolai Gogol, you surely remember how adroitly one of the characters ate vareniki with sour cream that flew into his mouth by themselves. Of course, traditional Ukrainian vareniki don't have such super skills, but their taste is sure to make you think of the Ukrainian cuisine's magic. Ukrainian vareniki are often compared to Russian pelmeni or Italian ravioli. Vareniki's crucial difference from other similar dishes is their dough. Traditional Ukrainian vareniki can't be Lenten, that is, kefir and eggs are always added to the dough. What are vareniki like? Nikolai Gogol wrote that you could eat hat-sized vareniki at some farms. That's, of course, an exaggeration. The classical varenik is around 10 cm large and, contrary to pelmeni or ravioli, has a crescent shape. Vareniki's filling can be very different: potato, cabbage, potato and meat, potato and salo (pork meat), sweet or salted curd, pumpkin, cherries and so on. The filling is warped up in dough and cooked for five minutes or less. Vareniki are usually served with sour cream. Although it's truly Ukrainian dish, vareniki are well-known all over the world. People in different corners of the world took liking of vereniki's unusual and rich taste and installed monuments to varenik. In particular, Ukrainian varenik was immortalized in Canada and Russia.

Yushka is a traditional Ukrainian pottage. Earlier 'yushka' was a name for meat and fish broths that were basis for the majority of liquid dishes, in particular for ukha. Later, however, potatoes and other vegetables, pasta, beans, mushrooms and various cereals became yushka's components. Yushka is cooked differently in different regions of Ukraine and new ingredients are constantly added to it. Thus, there are Poltava yushka (with dumplings), Zaporizhian yushka (with salo), Kherson yushka (with salmon) and so on. Yushka is a first course traditionally served with sour cream sprinkled with herbs.

The salad Shakhterskyi rose to fame during Soviet Union era. The successful combination of vegetables and meat is a key to salad’s richness and healthiness. Moreover, the salad can be served both warm immediately after being finished, and cooled, if it is stored in the fridge for several hours.