West Ukrainian Kvarg Cheese Cake Recipe

West Ukrainian Cheese Cake

If there was a ‘worlds ugliest cake’ competition, this will win, hands down.  Photos like this shouldn't even be allowed on the internet. I guess you would never guess that this is a cheesecake. It looks more like something that came from outer space. But it tastes good.

The recipe uses quark instead of cream cheese. The quark I used had 0.3% fat, so it’s a relatively low fat dessert. It also uses semolina instead of regular flour. You can see the semolina grains in the photo below.

West Ukrainian Cheese Cake

Source: Enjoy Your Cooking

Ingredients

680 grams (1½ lb) quark (fresh farmers cheese)

4 eggs, separated

100 grams (3½ oz) of butter, melted

¾ cup of sugar

2 tablespoons semolina

Juice of half a small lemon

½ teaspoon of vanilla sugar

Ingredients

1.      Heat oven to 190°C/375°F

2.      Beat egg whites until it doubles in volume. Slowly add half of the sugar and keep beating the egg whites until sugar has dissolved.

3.      In a separate bowl mix together egg yolks and the rest of the sugar until the sugar has dissolved

4.      Add quark to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.

5.      Add the rest of the ingredients except the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.

6.      Fold in the egg white mixture and add to a greased baking pan

7.      Bake at 190°C/375°F for 15 minutes

8.      Reduce the temperature to 175°C/350°F and bake for a further 45 minutes

9.      Turn the heat off and let cake cool down till room temperature inside the oven. Don’t open the oven. Once cooled, remove cake from the baking pan and refrigerate.

Kyrgyz Style Gamburger (Гамбургер) Recipe

This is not really a recipe post!


In Russian language, ‘h’ is replaced by ‘g’ so hamburger becomes gamburger. If you happen to be in Kyrgyzstan, feel homesick and order a gamburger, you will be in for a shock. Here’s a cross section view.

Gamburger

The dominant flavor in the gamburger is mayo laden coleslaw, with subtle flavors of well done meat and French fries. And you get all of this from one bite. 

If you are not in Kyrgyzstan and anxious to create the gamburger experience, here’s how:

1.      Smother both halves of a burger bun with mayonnaise and ketchup.  Ideally the bun should be either dry or moist with a very chewy crust. For the authentic experience use factory mayonnaise.

2.      Place some French fries on the bottom half of the bun. French fries go in the burger, not on the side. Use less than 10 fries.

3.      Top the fries with well done kebab meat, a relatively small amount for a subtle flavor. About 20-30 grams should be enough. Type of meat should remain a mystery.

4.      Top the meat with a generous amount of mayo laden coleslaw. You should be able to get close to your daily recommended vegetable intake.

5.      Throw in some cucumber slices for crunch and your gamburger is ready to rock and roll.

If your gamburger tastes like a hamburger, or tastes meaty, you have done something wrong. Start over again.

In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, there are hundreds of "gamburger" stands. I bought mine from the one below and it set me back by 55 soms (US$1.12). 

Gamburger

In recent years a couple of ‘regular’ hamburgers chains have made an appearance. These chains use meat patties, topped with cheese if ordered, and fries are served on the side. They do things the boring old fashioned way! The price of a hamburger and gamburger is comparable. My guess is that gamburgers have a larger market share. 

Osso Buco Stew Recipe

Osso Buco Stews

Stews never fail to disappoint. And this one is no different. The original recipe used lamb instead of veal. I also used lamb and it was fantastic.

I didn't thicken the soup, because I couldn't wait any longer. If you have time and patience, try to thicken it more since the result would be far better. 

Source: cooking with chopin

Ingredients

½ cup unbleached flour

2 pounds of osso buco meat (cut into 1-inch pieces)

¼ cup olive oil

1 stick unsalted butter

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

6 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1/2-inch thick pieces)

1 (28-ounce) can of Italian whole plum tomatoes, drained

1 cup red wine

3 cups beef or lamb stock (to make your own, just substitute this recipe with lamb or beef bones)

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1.      Place the flour in a shallow container and season with salt and pepper. 

2.      Coat all sides of the meat with flour and set aside

3.      In a large Dutch oven or casserole heat the oil and butter together on medium-high until butter is sizzling. Sear the meat until lightly browned on all sides. Transfer browned meat to a paper towel to drain and set aside. 

4.      Add onions, garlic, carrots, basil and oregano to Dutch oven.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. 

5.      Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes.  Skim excess fat.

6.      Add wine and bring to a boil.  Once the liquid is boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. 

7.      Heat oven to 175°C/350°F

8.      Return the browned meat to the Dutch oven.  Add enough beef or lamb stock to just cover the meat.  Cover Dutch oven and bake for 1½ hours.  Remove lid and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, until meat is very tender.

9.      If you want the sauce to thicken further, transfer the Dutch oven back to the burners and cook, uncovered, for an additional 10-15 minutes.