Lemishka

Lemishka is an old Ukrainian dish, a thick porridge made from previously dried buckwheat flour. It is a simple, everyday, yet remarkably tasty food of the poor and peasant cuisine of the past.

The flour is first roasted in a dry pan until it takes on a golden colour and a nutty aroma — and it is this that gives lemishka its inimitable taste. Then it is gradually scalded with boiling water, stirred continuously, until the mass becomes thick and uniform. The finished lemishka is seasoned with a fry-up of oil or lard with cracklings and onion. It is eaten hot, and often cold too. Simple to make and hearty, lemishka saved people from hunger for centuries and remains in the people's memory as a symbol of an unpretentious yet sincere home cuisine.