Cook This: 3 recipes from Sour Cherries and Sunflowers, including a refreshing cold borscht

National Post

18-07-2025

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In the TV studio, she had learned about many other food cultures. Travelling with her mother, Elena, in 2017, Zolotarev saw the cuisines of her heritage in a new light. She knew she had a story to tell.
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Zolotarev was born in Baranavichy, western Belarus, to a Ukrainian dad and a Belarusian mom. In 1994, her family left her father's home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, after living with her paternal grandparents for five years. Whenever she returns, she typically visits both countries.
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'I remember being on the bus (from Ukraine to Belarus), and it was this really intense feeling and sensation. And I just felt like, 'I have to share more about this food culture,' whatever that might mean at that point. I didn't really know exactly. And then I also kind of felt like, 'OK, I want to write a book. Maybe I do have something to write about.''
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Zolotarev spent several years laying the groundwork for Sour Cherries and Sunflowers, talking with family, including her babushka Liana, who left Ukraine to join them in Sydney, and her late babushka Lida in Baranavichy. It was a valuable learning period. Though Zolotarev had grown up steeped in the food culture, she didn't know its intricacies.
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'It all came with this incredible deep knowledge and understanding and a connection for food and culture and so much meaning,' says Zolotarev. 'It was a very step-by-step, slow, intuitive process. So, every year, there was sort of a different stage and chapter, and I went back and forth trying to understand how to bring this book together. Because it was all new to me, and on the side, I was also working in food. It was all just very new territory, new waters that I was trying to get through and understand.'
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She discovered the hows and whys of the dishes and learned more about her own history through interviews with family, friends and other members of the community. Zolotarev says that interviewing her family was especially rewarding. As they recounted stories, past experiences and people dear to them came to life.
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As with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, circumstances can change quickly. 'So, it's up to us people to capture (traditions) in some way or another, whether it's writing, recording, documenting visually or somehow. Those things are important for our identity and our connection. And I think one of the things is when people do move away, far from their original home because of conflict, there's this trauma that's either hidden away and locked up, or it's alive and continues. And every family deals with it differently, of course, but it's there, and I think it's important to express it or process it in some way or another.'
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Spending time with talented cooks in Belarus, Ukraine and the diaspora made her realize how much she still had to learn. '(The) research for the book has been one of the most special processes for me. I was just thinking last week how it's actually kind of sad that it's over,' says Zolotarev, laughing. 'The journey meant so much to me, and I'm going to treasure it.'
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5 medium-large beets (stems and leaves removed, but keep the skin and the natural ends for flavour and colour), washed well
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 eggs
2 cucumbers
Small bunch of dill
A few stems of spring onions (scallions)
Lemon wedges, for squeezing
Sour cream, to serve
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Step 1
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Put the beets in a large saucepan and cover with enough water to cover the beets and fill the pan three-quarters full, about 2.5 litres. Add the vinegar, cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the beets are cooked through. (Check by piercing one with a fork or skewer: it should easily pass through to the centre.)