Sour cherry varenyky (dumplings)

Stuffed with sour cherries sprinkled with a little sugar, they're a sweet spin on Ukrainian dumplings that more commonly run savoury.

Sour cherry varenyky were a staple of Lena Sutherland's childhood home in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in the 1950s. They're a sweet spin on Ukrainian dumplings that more commonly run savoury with potato and other fillings. But Sutherland, owner of the recently opened Lena's Ukrainian Kitchen in the northern English city of Hull, sings the praises of fruity fillings.

"In Ukraine, we use a lot of fruits and berries to make pies, piroshki, varenyky and pancakes," she said. "That's my memory of home."

Naturally, Sutherland based her recipe for sour cherry varenyky on the one she learned from her mother. But her baking roots go back to her grandmother. Sutherland spent her preschool years with her grandparents, giving her a front seat to her grandmother's baking.

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"My grandmother was very good at baking bread and pastry," she remembered. "I think that's why I always wanted to do it myself."

But Sutherland's culinary career took some time to get off the ground. She first spent 25 years working as a teacher. It was at the end of that tenure that she met her future husband, Ian, an Englishman who was in the merchant navy. They moved to Hull in 1996 and she quickly shifted her focus to food. Within her first month, Sutherland launched a cooking demonstration with the backing of Hull City Council. It became an annual affair with food tastings, singing and dancing.

"Every year, more and more people came to this event," she said. "And they noticed that the food was good."

That quickly led to the opening of Sutherland's first deli in 1999, the eponymous Lena's Deli.

"The only reason [I opened the deli] was I was craving homemade food," said Sutherland. "I was lucky it did so well."

The deli operated for 23 years before Sutherland closed it down to kick off her golden years. But retirement didn't last long. When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Sutherland wanted to support her homeland.

"When the war in Ukraine started in February, I spoke to my family, my granddaughter, daughter-in-law, my son, and they all told me that they sent money to help the Ukrainian army," she said. "I thought we could do something here as well."

With that in mind, Sutherland planned a Ukrainian dinner to raise funds in early March 2022. Local businesses stepped up to support the fundraiser; a local Turkish restaurant, Meze Bar & Grill, offered their restaurant and servers to host the event; and Sutherland said that all the food was donated for free by Beverly International Foods and Madina Butchers. It was such a success that they repeated the event in April, May and June. Funds raised were sent to Ukraine to support volunteers and territory defence groups.

Still, Sutherland wanted to do more. That's when she decided to officially pause her retirement and open Lena's Ukrainian Kitchen.

"The idea to do this restaurant came to me because I met a lot of refugees, mainly women and children," she said. "They weren't happy, they were missing their homes, and of course, they wanted a place where they could get together and have a conversation."

For Sutherland, it was an opportunity to continue fundraising and supporting Ukraine. 

"This is the main thing," she said, "to show people that Ukraine is surviving, to show people that the Ukrainian people are fighting, will continue to fight, and will win."

A menu favourite is Sutherland's sour cherry varenyky. She first made it in 1996 for some neighbours in Hull; Sutherland said they still talk about how much they enjoyed that meal.

The recipe is a reflection of Ukrainian access to fresh ingredients. Sutherland said that most people during her Ukrainian childhood had a garden that served as an outdoor pantry of sorts. During summer, her mother would harvest sour cherries and use them for the varenyky.

But she stresses, Ukrainian recipes change from home to home. Sometimes the difference can be as minute as how to prepare the flour. Sutherland said she prefers making her varenyky with just flour, salt, cold water, and egg yolk. Others will use boiling water or kefir, a fermented milk that resembles thin yoghurt and is popular in northern and Eastern Europe. So, the possibilities for adaptation are limitless.

For her recipe, sour cherries are the essential ingredient and it's best to get them fresh in the summertime. Her main tip is to make sure you don't lose the juices from the cherries when you boil them. To do that, she says to only add sugar after you've placed the cherries in the centre of the varenyky dough and have sprinkled a pinch of flour or starch over them. Then, fold it over.

"It's not difficult to make," she said. "It gets easier with practice."

humonia/Getty Images

Sour cherry varenyky recipe

By Lena Sutherland

(makes 16 varenyky)

Method

Step 1

Mix the flour, water, egg yolk and salt to make a medium soft dough. Knead until smooth and cover the bowl with a towel or cling film and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.

Step 2

When the dough is ready, roll it out to a 40cm diameter. 

Step 3

Use an 8cm biscuit cutter to cut the dough into 16 circles. 

Step 4

Place a spoonful of cherries in the middle of each varenyky. Add pinch of sugar and a sprinkling of flour or starch to keep the juices from running out. 

Step 5

Fold the dough over to form a half circle and press the edges together with your fingers. The edges should be free of any filling and sealed well to prevent the filling from falling out.

Step 6

Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Then place 6-8 varenyky one by one into the pot, stirring gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Keep simmering about 2-3 minutes until the varenyky float to the surface.

Step 7

Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate and serve with your choice of fruit coulis, whipped cream or sour cream.

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