Vereshchaka with buckwheat pancakes

Vereshchaka became common in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the mid-18th century. At first it was known as one of the variations of machanka – a meat sauce for pancakes. Vereshchaka was invented by royal chef called Vereshchaka. The dish became widely known in the 19th century, because its name coincided with the family name of Maryla Wereszczakowna, Adam Mickiewicz’s biggest love.

Vereshchaka is one of the hallmarks of Belarusian cuisine. The recipe has many regional and individual variations.

Ingredients for vereshchaka:

• 4 white sausages
• 150g bacon
• 100g onion
• 50g flour
• 0.7 liters water
• 0.5 liters beer
• spices (cumin, bay leaf, black pepper) and salt to taste

Ingredients for buckwheat pancakes:

• 150-200g buckwheat flour
• 50g wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• milk
• salt and sugar to taste
• vegetable oil for cooking

Directions:

Dice the onion and sauté it in the vegetable oil until it is light brown. Add the julienne bacon and keep frying the mix.

Put the white sausages in the boiling water mixed with beer and spices. When the sausages are cooked, take them out and cut into pieces. Put the sausage pieces back to the broth and add the onion and bacon.

On a dry frying pan, sauté the flour until it is cream-colored, cool it down and add the remaining broth in the amount needed for a uniform consistency. Pour the mix slowly into the vereshchaka with the sausages stirring the mix all the way. Keep it on low heat until it thickens.

In order to cook thin pancakes, combine buckwheat flour, wheat flour, salt, and sugar, add the eggs and pour the milk slowly until you get uniform and even liquid dough. Fry in the vegetable oil.

The vereshchaka is served in a pot; the buckwheat pancakes are put on a plate nearby.

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