“Grečka” – ukrajinska superhrana

Prije nekoliko dana u Varaždinu je otvorena umjetnička instalacija posvećena heljdi. Sadrži prekrasnu kompoziciju od keramičkog sjemena heljde i recept za kuhanje ukusnog jela. Kao Ukrajinka u Hrvatskoj, ne mogu a da se ne divim ovom događaju.

Heljda je za Ukrajince obavezno jelo, hrana za utjehu, apsolutni favorit u zdravoj prehrani. Svi mogu potvrditi da Ukrajinci u inozemstvu traže heljdu, svježi sir i sastojke za boršč. Imam sreće da sve te proizvode u Hrvatskoj pronalazim u supermarketu iza ugla. I kuham je svakih nekoliko dana u svojoj kuhinji. Stoga bih ovdje željela podijeliti našu ukrajinsku povijest s heljdom i nekoliko recepata.

Ovu ukusnu sjemenku nazivamo “grečka“, što je možda zbog grčkih redovnika koji su je uzgajali u samostanima na teritoriju Ukrajine. Međutim, sjeme su na našu zemlju davno donijela iranska plemena, Skiti i Sarmati.

Heljda, kao kultura koju je lako sijati i uzgajati, bila je biljka po izboru seljaka čija su zemljišta bila stalno pod napadima nomadskih plemena iz južne stepske regije. Mogli su pobjeći iz svojih sela, a zatim se vratiti i ubrati heljdu. Što nije bio slučaj s pšenicom jer je zahtijevala više pažnje. Kozaci, odvažni ljudi koji su u 16. stoljeću formirali vojnu organizaciju osebujne demokratske vrste, preteču ukrajinske države, seljake su nazivali “гречкосіями“, tj. onima koji siju heljdu. “Grečka” je prisutna i u frazeologizmima i izrekama: “скакати в гречку“, što znači biti nevjeran u braku, “нехай буде гречка, аби не суперечка“, što znači neka bude heljda, samo da nema svađe.

Što se tiče mojih obiteljskih specijaliteta s heljdom, to su:

Heljda s mlijekom i šećerom: Savršen hranjiv doručak napravljen je od prethodno kuhane heljde sa šećerom i vrućim mlijekom. Bolje od bilo koje kaše!

Heljda s gljivama: Potrebno je popržiti ili pirjati gljive s malo luka, soli i papra. Dodajte malo kiselog vrhnja i malo vode u tavu, promiješajte i pirjajte još malo. Savršeno se slaže s kuhanom heljdom.

Heljda s pirjanim kupusom: Potrebno je pirjati fino nasjeckani kupus na biljnom ulju po izboru s malo paste od rajčice, soli, papra, paprike, luka i mrkve. Pomiješajte s kuhanom heljdom i jajetom, prženim ili kuhanim.

Heljdu možete koristiti umjesto riže u sarmama i punjenim paprikama, praviti palačinke i veganske kotlete, dodavati je u hladne hranjive salate itd.

Smachnogo i dobar tek!

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“Grechka” — Ukrainian superfood

A couple of days ago, an art installation devoted to buckwheat was opened here in Varaždin. It contains a beautiful ceramic buckwheat seeds composition and a recipe to cook a delicious meal. As a Ukrainian in Croatia, I have no choice but admire this event.

Buckwheat for Ukrainians is a must-have meal, comfort food, an absolute favourite in a healthy diet. Everybody can confirm that Ukrainians abroad are looking for buckwheat, cottage cheese, and borsch components. I am lucky to find all these products in Croatia just in the supermarket round the corner. And I cook it every couple of days in my kitchen. So, here I would like to share our Ukrainian history with buckwheat and a few recipes.

We call this delicious seed “grechka”, which is, perhaps, due to Greek monks who were growing it in monasteries on the territory of Ukraine. The seeds, though, were brought to our land long-long ago by Iranian-speaking tribes, Scythians and Sarmatians.

Buckwheat, being a crop easy to sow and grow, was a plant of choice for peasants whose lands were constantly under attack from nomadic tribes of the Southern steppe region. They could flee their villages and then come back to harvest buckwheat. Which was not the case with wheat as it needed more attending to. The Cossacks, venturesome men who formed a military organization of a peculiar democratic kind in the 16th century, a precursor of a Ukrainian state, called peasants “гречкосіями”, i.e. the ones who sow buckwheat. “Grechka” is also present in phraseologisms and sayings: “скакати в гречку”, meaning to be unfaithful in marriage, “нехай буде гречка, аби не суперечка”, meaning let it be buckwheat, but not a quarrel.

As for my family specialties with buckwheat, these are

Buckwheat with milk and sugar
A perfect nutritious breakfast is made of previously cooked buckwheat with sugar and hot milk. Better than any porridge!

Buckwheat with mushrooms
You need to fry or sautee your mushrooms with some onions, salt and pepper. Add some sour cream and a bit of water to the pan, stir and sautee a bit longer. Tastes perfect with cooked buckwheat.

Buckwheat with sauteed cabbage
You need to sautee nicely shredded cabbage on plant oil of your choice with some tomato paste, salt, pepper, paprika, onions and carrots. Combine with cooked buckwheat and an egg, fried or boiled.
You can use buckwheat instead of rice in cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers, make pancakes and vegan cutlets, add it to cold nutritious salads, etc.

Smačnogo i dobar tek!