Mamushka

Olia Hercules gathers more than 100 recipes from Eastern Europe, a region she argues is often overlooked, stretching from the Black Sea coast to Baku, Kyiv and Kazakhstan. The dishes are meant to feel fresh and surprising, and many will be new to readers outside the region.

Hercules grew up in Ukraine, spent several years in Cyprus, and later moved to London, where she trained and worked as a chef. Her recipes are interwoven with personal memories of her early years in the kitchen and with the traditions of her family, so the book reads as both a cookbook and a memoir of food.

The chapters cover soups and broths, breads and pastries, vegetables and salads, meat and fish, dumplings and noodles, and compotes and jams. Among the highlights are a Moldovan giant cheese twist, garlicky poussins, an apricot and sour cherry pie, and a birthday sponge cake with ice cream, strawberries and meringue. The photography is full of lifestyle images, and the techniques are simple enough for home cooks.