Eastern European

During a research trip to Budapest, food editor Paul Grimes ate his way through plates of wild mushrooms for dinner and servings of sweet strudels for dessert. When he returned, he came up with this elegant hors d'oeuvre of thin cylinders of phyllo filled with the woodsy intensity of mushrooms. Brushing the phyllo layers with duck or goose fat lends an authentic flavor; butter also works perfectly well.

Tender veal shanks get great depth of flavor from lecsó, a kind of Hungarian sofrito of sautéed onions, frying peppers, and tomatoes, to which paprika and, in this case, stock are added. (Grimes found that Cubanelle peppers are the best substitute for the long, yellowish-green peppers found throughout Hungary.) Finished with sour cream, the sauce yields more than you need, but you'll be happy to have leftovers to serve over noodles, chicken, or pork.

These palm-size pockets can be frozen for up to a month and fit perfectly in a lunch box.

Serve this yogurt-based Greek staple as a first-course accompaniment to pitas and other breads, or as a light but creamy sauce drizzled over spiced roasted meats.

In the remote mountains of Georgia, the star ingredient of this bread called khachapuri—akin to pizza—is the firm but creamy salted cow's-milk cheese called sulguni. A blend of Havarti and mozzarella will give you a similar velvety texture.

With sustainability in mind, we taste-tested a variety of domestic caviars. Trout roe had the pop and brininess we were looking for—and it was especially pretty.

This potato soup recipe was brought over from Poland by test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau's grandmother.

Russian blinis traditionally call for yeast, but our mini-pancake version is blissfully easy. Use as much or as little caviar as you like, depending on how indulgent you're feeling.

Split and browned bratwurst provides contrast in a Normandy-style pairing of apples and cream.

Like an eastern European take on ravioli, this embodiment of Polish comfort food is right at home in a lively tomato sauce with dill and caraway seeds.

Using turkey makes this take on the Hungarian beef stew lighter. Adjust the heat level by using all hot paprika, all sweet paprika, or a combination.

Dessert dumplings play a cherished role in Hungary. The tender dough, similar to Italian potato gnocchi, forms a pillowy ball around lightly sweetened plums. The finishing touch? A buttery mixture of bread crumbs, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon sugar.

This is a fantastic preparation for bone-in pork shoulder, which is loaded with flavor but needs braising to tenderize. A blend of ingredients commonly used in Eurasia's culinarily diverse Caucasus region (comprising Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Russia) brings together elements of heat, garlic, and spices like coriander and fenugreek.

Pastry chef Gale Gand found this family-favorite recipe in her Hungarian grandmother's recipe file.

We tweaked this Old World sweet-and-sour dish with confit duck, and the amazing result knocked us out.

Kutia This lightly sweetened pudding is the first of 12 traditional dishes served on Christmas Eve in Eastern Europe. Countries such as the Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania each have their own version, sometimes chilled, sometimes served as a warm porridge. (The dish used to be a tradition in Russia as well, but because of the communist Soviet Union's official atheism, it has become extinct there.) Our version is based on the baked Ukrainian style, which is traditionally made with wheat berries, which require overnight soaking and long cooking. For convenience, we've substituted quick-cooking barley, which packs the same nutty-chewy punch. For the best results, prepare the pudding a day ahead: Let it cool, cover it, and chill it overnight to let the flavors meld. Serve it chilled, plain or sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

The Russian version of pierogies, pirozhki are small turnovers that are baked rather than boiled. Their savory, rich mushroom-and-liver filling packs a big punch within a crisp little pastry.

Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted from The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook, by Sharon Lebewohl and Rena Bulkin. On Succoth, a joyous seven-day autumn harvest festival (a kind of Jewish Thanksgiving), stuffed foods—most notably holishkes, but also kreplach, stuffed peppers, and strudels—are served to symbolize abundance. Stuffed cabbage has been a staple of Jewish cooking since the fourteenth century, when it was introduced in Russia by Tartars. There are an infinity of recipes for it, both Eastern European and Middle Eastern; ours, in a sweet-and-sour sauce, is of Polish derivation. Note: When you're confronted with a bin of cabbages, you'll notice that some are quite light, whereas others have the heft of bowling balls. Choose the lightest ones for stuffing; their leaves peel off much more easily.

The recipe for this eastern European favorite varies from Russia to Slovenia, but it is always rich, sweet, and dense. Poppy seeds can easily become rancid, so make sure your poppy-seed filling tastes fresh.

In Russia and eastern Europe kasha is most often made into thick gruel. Instead, we turned the roasted buckwheat kernels into a fantastic side dish studded with butter-toasted walnuts and browned onion.