Zatirka

Zatirka is one of the oldest and simplest dishes of Ukrainian cuisine, a kind of liquid porridge or soup of small dough crumbs. The name comes from the method of preparation: the dough is literally rubbed by hand from flour.

The technique is unique and simple: to a bowl of flour a little water or a beaten egg is added, and the mixture is rubbed between the palms until it turns into small uneven crumbs-granules, resembling coarse grain. These flour crumbs are then dropped into boiling milk, water, or stock and cooked until done. Zatirka in milk, sweetened and dressed with butter, was a nourishing breakfast, especially for children; zatirka in water or stock, often with potato and a fried base, was served as a hearty lunch. This dish was born of the wisdom of thrifty peasant cooking, when from a handful of flour and a drop of water a family could quickly be fed. Simple, warm, and nourishing, zatirka was the everyday food of many generations of Ukrainians. Today it is returning as part of the authentic culinary heritage — the taste of antiquity, homely cosiness, and the unpretentious wisdom of folk cooking.