Pampushki

Ukrainian in origin (the dish is most often called Ukrainian pampushki even when eaten across Russia), traditionally paired with borscht. The pampushka tradition goes back to at least the 18th century in Cossack-era Ukraine, where leavened wheat bread was the rich-soil southern counterpart to the rye-heavy Russian north.

Ukrainian in origin, going back at least to the 18th century in Cossack-era Ukraine — leavened wheat bread was the rich-soil southern counterpart to the rye-heavy Russian north. Garlic goes on raw and at the end. Cooking the garlic into the dough or brushing before baking kills the sharp note that makes the dish work; the buns must touch in the pan to bake into a tearable cluster.

Small round yeasted buns, pulled apart from a tray they baked together in, brushed top and bottom with a slurry of crushed garlic, sunflower oil, salt, and chopped parsley. The garlic is raw, not cooked — sharp and immediate. Served warm beside borscht; you tear one off and dunk it into the red broth.

Garlic goes on raw and at the end. Cooking the garlic into the dough or brushing before baking kills the sharp note that makes the dish work — the whole point is the pungent oil-garlic hit against the soft bread. The buns must touch in the pan so they bake into a tearable cluster; spaced apart, they brown all sides and lose the soft pull-apart texture.