Lozhka : Eastern European Soups, Stews & Other Things We Eat with a Spoon

I couldn’t love this book more. -- Diana Henry

Just as you would tuck into a bowl of Alissa’s quince borscht or linger over her boozy, chocolate and smetana-layered trifle, I promise you will want to do the same with this deeply felt gem of a book. -- Polina Chesnakova

In Lozhka, award-winning writer and co-founder of #CookforUkraine, Alissa Timoshkina celebrates Eastern Europe through one of its most humble and powerful symbols: the spoon. Blending soulful recipes with rich storytelling, she brings together history, memory and cookery in a portrait of the region that is both deeply comforting and strikingly contemporary.

From herb-scented soups and hearty grain stews to pillowy dumplings and custard-soaked desserts, each dish carries a sense of meaning, memory and belonging. Drawing on a wide range of traditions, including Ukrainian, Jewish, Tatar, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak and Roma, amongst others, Lozhka reveals a borderless cuisine shaped by resilience and generosity.

Vibrant, vegetable-led and full of smoky, tangy and creamy flavours, these recipes are made for today’s kitchens while honouring centuries of tradition. More than a cookbook, Lozhka is a journey through kitchens, cultures and shared histories – an invitation to slow down, gather round and savour the stories carried in every spoonful.

MEDIA REVIEWS

At last, food eaten with a spoon is given its due! This original and soulful collection of recipes from Alissa Timoshkina celebrates some of the many cuisines of Eastern Europe through their soups and stews; their dumplings and goulashes. The pages seem to be scented with dill and caraway and many kinds of broth. There is a wonderfully soothing quality to Alissa’s recipes; her food will make you feel looked after. While paying homage to the traditional dishes of her grandmother’s generation, Alissa's recipes are also lighter and more vegetable-centric. For anyone, like me, who sees soup in all its forms as the eternal comfort food, Lozhka is a deeply consoling book to read and to cook from. - Bee Wilson

Lozhka is brilliant! The spoon is the most seductive of utensils, with its curved, sensuous shape. It is also the most comforting, possessing the power to soothe and uplift, as the recipes in Lozhka abundantly show. Dumplings, soups and stews get star billing as spoons accompany us on a journey through the culinary cultures of Eastern Europe. Alissa’s recipes are both nostalgic and innovative, each one promising solace and delight. - Darra Goldstein

Journey across countries and cultures with nothing but a spoon in your hand and Alissa’s voice in your ear. Lush and magical. - Bonny Reichert, bestselling author of How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love and Plenty

Lozhka feels like it’s been here all along; lived in, loved, ready to offer cosy comfort in the form of a bowl of borsch and a book of tales to curl up on the couch with too. - Alice Zaslavsky

A glorious collection of entirely new recipes and flavour combinations (at least to me). I couldn’t love this book more. - Diana Henry