Boyko pyrohy

What it is

As in all of western Ukraine, in Boyko culture, varenyky are called pyrohy. The distinctive feature of Boyko pyrohy is the dough: it has traditionally been kneaded mainly from rye flour, which gives the pyrohy a dark, 'black' color with a slight sourness. Rye dough is sticky and does not stretch, so it is not rolled out thinly, and the pyrohy are shaped a bit larger, adding a handful of wheat flour.

The fillings are made from what the household provides: mashed potatoes with fried onions, bryndza or cheese with potatoes, sauerkraut, mushrooms, peas, buckwheat, and in summer — blueberries, cherries, or plums. Boiled pyrohy were smeared with lard, oil, or less often butter, and dipped in sour cream or a sauce: each type of pyrohy had its own.

The oldest are considered to be pyrohy with cabbage and mushrooms — they were shaped on Holy Evening. Pyrohy were a festive dish and a sign of respect for guests.

Boykos also baked pyrohy: large round ones filled with potatoes, which were placed in the oven and eaten with borscht.

History and name

Ethnographer Petro Lehoida describes Boyko pyrohy as varenyky with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, bryndza, cheese, and potatoes, and in summer — with blueberries; they were smeared with lard or oil. From the varenyky dough, in mountain villages, they also made palenyky and homemade noodles.

The recipe for 'black' rye pyrohy was recorded from the Savchuk family from the village of Lastivka in the Turka region for the book 'Boyko Cuisine' (2020). 'Black' varenyky were also prepared by local families during master classes on Boyko cuisine in the village of Dovhe-Hirske.

Ingredients and allergens

Variant: black, with potatoes and onions

Rye flour1 kgFor simple lean cakes called kucytsia in Bukovina.Contains allergens: gluten

Potato1.5–2 kgIn the mountains, potatoes are called bulba, ripa, bandurky, or kompyr — the basis for riplianka, deruny, and pies.

Wheat flour1 cupFor the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

Eggs2 pcs.Chicken eggs — for the dough of hombovtsi, palačint, pasky, and deruny.Contains allergens: eggs

Sour cream1 cupThick homemade sour cream is the base for banosh and machanka, a common dressing for Carpathian dishes.Contains allergens: milk

Milk1 cupCow's milk for the dough of palachyntsi, machanka, and porridge.Contains allergens: milk

Onion2–3 pcs.Fried onion in lard or oil is a common seasoning in Carpathian dishes.

Lard2–3 tbsp for sautéRendered pork fat for frying deruny and hurka.

Butterto taste, to serveButter is placed on slices of kulesha, used to grease riplianka, and to fry breadcrumbs for hombovtsi.Contains allergens: milk

Also: salt (to taste)

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs

Variant: with potatoes and bryndza

rye flour, eggs, water, potato, bryndza (sheep cheese), onion, pork cracklings, salt

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs

Variant: fasting, with sauerkraut (on holy evening)

rye flour, water, sauerkraut, onion, sunflower oil, dried porcini, salt

Contains allergens: gluten
Diet: lenten · vegan

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is traditionally made

Serves: 6–8 servings

• Rye flour — 1 kg
• Wheat flour — 1 cup
• Eggs — 2 pcs.
• Sour cream — 1 cup
• Milk — 1 cup
• Potato — 1.5–2 kg
• Onion — 2–3 pcs.
• Lard — 2–3 tbsp for sauté
• Butter — to taste
• Salt — to taste

1. Filling: mash the boiled potatoes, add onions fried in lard or oil, and salt. For the bryndza filling, mix in crushed bryndza. For the cabbage filling, boil the sauerkraut, squeeze it out, chop it, and fry it with onions.
2. Dough: mix rye flour with a handful or two of wheat flour, salt, eggs, sour cream, and milk (during fasting — only with water), knead and let it rest under a towel.
3. Roll out the dough not too thinly and cut out circles, slightly larger than those for regular varenyky.
4. Place the filling and pinch the edges well.
5. Boil in salted water for 3–4 minutes after the pyrohy float to the surface, and carefully remove them.
6. Smeared with lard, cracklings, onion sauté, or butter.

How it is served

Hot, with sour cream, cracklings, or sauté; fasting — with oil and fried onions or mushroom sauce.

Variants

Rye dough gives 'black' pyrohy a sour taste; today, Boyko pyrohy are more often shaped from wheat dough. Terczany pyrohy are made not from dough, but from grated potatoes with a filling of cheese or bryndza.

The traditional method as described by our sources; every family does it its own way. We have not tested this recipe in a professional kitchen.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

Boykivshchyna: mountain communities of the Sambir (Turka region), Drohobych, and Stryi districts of Lviv region and the Kalush district of Ivano-Frankivsk region. The area is approximate; pyrohy with potatoes and cabbage are known throughout the Carpathians.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Everyday food · Christmas Eve · Lent

In tradition

Pyrohy were shaped for holidays and for guests. On Holy Evening — fasting ones, with cabbage, mushrooms, or potatoes, served with mushroom sauce; each type of pyrohy had its own sauce.

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