School-children from Rivne oblast have been once again convinced that knowledge about health nutrition ensures not only good state of health but also costly prizes. In particullar, Inna Nikitchuk, school-pupil from Tugovytska Secondary School (10^th form) did not expect to be awarded with modern MP3 Player for her story about native region. Inna collected legends from local residents, researched documents in village archive and added antique local recipes to her story. “Poliski dumplings”, “Poliskyi borsch” this are names of only some recipes that young researcher has noted from her mother, grandmother and other old residents.

As result of the competition named “From vegetable garden to dining table. Healthy and useful diet of Polissya region” 89 prize-winners (personal and pupil’s groups) from 4 rayons of Rivne oblast were awarded with costly prizes. All participants, more than 100 pupils received certificates. The competition was organized by the UNDP Chornobyl Recovery and Development Programme in cooperation with Education Departments of Rokytne, Zarichne, Dubrovytsya and Sarny rayons, Rivne oblast with the support of Louis Bonduelle Fondation and took place in March – May 2009.

The goal of the competition is to promote cooking following traditional recipes of Polissya region that are essential for healthy nutrition, school-children’s development and studying. Using traditional recipes also can help to ensure the high standard of living and to increase tourist attractiveness of region.

«Polissya region is extremely interesting! Everyone visiting our region is impressed. It is here, that you can find oak tree, that is 1000 years old and picturesque landscapes of Rivne National Park, you can fishing on the Goryn river and Nobel lake, visit village, with 30 storks couples, attend folk festivals! All these is only a small part of what you can see in Polissya. Though, not many visitors are coming to us» - said Natalia Vlasyk, Director of Tomashgorod Secondaty School № 3.

“North of the Rivne oblast has remarkable tourism potential and original cuisine”, - says Sergiy Shcherbak, UNDP CRDP Ecological Specialist to confirm local School Director’s words - “works that were sent for the competition participants is the best prove to this. We have received materials that are very interesting and we are going to publish the tourism guide-book and the recipe book using these materials. In spite the status of the third zone of radioactive pollution (zone of voluntary resettlement), delicious dishes cooked based on old recipes with the use of locally produced vegetables, fruits and mushrooms that are properly processed, they are as safe as food produced in so cold “clean” regions”.

If you doubt words of our experts about tasty and useful food of Polissya region try to cook some of recipes yourself!

Cabbage balls stuffed with onions and eggs

How to cook:

Stew shred cabbage with milk till the mid-readiness. Add semolina porridge, knead thoroughly and continue stewing during 10 minutes. Prepared mixture should to be cooled and only after that egg need to be added. Start to form “Zrazy” (roll the mixture in balls) stuffing with fried onions and boiled eggs. Roll Zrazy in crumbs and fry on both sides. When ready put into the oven for 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1000 g,

Cream butter– 60 g,

Milk – 0.5 of glass,

Semolina porridge – 60 g,

Egg – 2,

Onion– 90 g,

Dried breadcrumbs – 40 g.

Recipe described by: School-pupils from Tomashgorod Secondary school №3

Baked cabbage

How to cook:

Wash the cabbage and cut in two pieces. Put cabbage-heads closely on the saucepan (without water!!!) and seal hermetically by frying pan of proper size.

Take the embers out of the stove and put turned over saucepan on it. Keep the frying pan on the embers for 3-4 hours. Let the dish to cool down after it is cooked and fill up with sauce.

Sauce preparation:

Cold water - 1 litter;

Salt - 50 g;

Oil - 2 tbs;

1 garlic clove

Black cracked pepper

Ingredients:

2 Cabbage-heads of middle size (0-7-1 kilos)

Salt

Sunflower oil

Black cracked pepper

Recipe described by: school-pupils of Beresivka Secondary School and received from local resident of village Beresove Naumovych Maria Petrivna (born in 1926).

Mushrooms chopped cutlet

How to cook:

Clean mushrooms, wash them and boil in salted water till readiness. Strain off mushrooms and chop them. Add bread crums, eggs, and pieces of fried onions, salt, pepper, cutted green parsley. Kneads everything assiduously over again. From this mix form mushrooms cutlet and roll in flour.  Fry from both sides in oil.

Serve with sour cream sauce.

Ingredients:

Mushrooms – 500 g

Creamed butter – 3 tbs.

Flour – 1 tbs.

Eggs – 3,

Bread crums– 150 g.,

Black cracked pepper,

Salt,

Sauce sour cream– 1, 5 of glass

Recipe described by: school-pupils of Lisivska Secondary School of Dubrovytsya rayon.

Stewed fruit (Uzvar) with apples and cranberries

How to cook:

Sort and wash cranberries, put them into saucepan and squash the juice. Put squashed skins in the pot, fill it with water and boil for some time. Filter received concoction to separate liquid and skins. Cut cleaned apples into big pieces (cubes). Add sugar to filtered cranberries concoction and boil it again. Add precooked apples and cook till the preparedness and after mix it with juice and cool it before consumption.

Ingredients: 500 grams of fresh apples – 3/4 pint of cranberries, 1 pint of sugar, 2 – 3 glasses of water. 

Recipe described by: School- lyceum of Rokytne rayon

For further information please contact Dzvinka Kachur, UNDP/CRDP: Tel: /044/ 253 07 08; 253 50 68; 253 51 77 Fax: /044/ 253 76 63; e-mail: dzvinka.kachur@undp.org.ua