Alissa Timoshkina on the Food that Inspires Her

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?

The best thing I’ve eaten was the food I’ve made together with the guests at my
recent cookery class! We made a very old-school classic of Ashkenazi cuisine, a
humble pastry called “knish”.

A flaky light dough encased the filling of mashed potatoes laced with sour cream and caramelised onions. I’ve made these a hundred times but there was something extra special and delicious about the batch we made at the cooking class.

I love that magic energy that is born when like-minded people come together to cook, share family stories and childhood food memories. This must be the secret ingredient!

What’s the one dish to make anyone fall in love with your new book?

It’s hard to choose one dish but if I had to go for one it would probably be dumplings
with sauerkraut and mushrooms, as they represent best all the ideas and traditions
of Eastern European cuisine.

Dumplings are a real staple of the region and there are myriad variations on the technique of encasing delicious filling in dough, boiling it and serving with either sour cream and dill, or melted butter and black pepper.

These dumplings go under many names, pierogi in Poland and varenyky in Ukraine. The
kraut and mushroom filling is delicately spiced with fennel seeds and dill, it’s a real flavour bomb! And also ticks all the boxes when it comes to sustainable, inexpensive and perfect-for-sharing style of cooking!

Were you always destined to cook? What has been your path into food?

My path into food wasn’t a straightforward one but now that I look back, I can see a coherent thread that seems to have led me here. I was very lucky to be raised by 3 generations of women in my family, so I was around in the kitchen a lot from an early age when my great-grandmother, Rosalia, would cook and bake, while looking after me. My childhood memories are filled with comforting meals cooked by Rosalia and my grandma, Valentina.

Later when I was a teen, I spent a lot to time around my mum, Olga, who always threw the most elaborate and fun dinner parties, every Friday night. When I came to the UK to study at the age of 15, I really felt the absence of my home food! It was then that I started to try replicate the family staples.

However, I never thought of a career in food until my late 20s when I was completing a PhD and felt a desperate need for a creative outlet. Starting with supper clubs, I ran an events and catering company while pursuing my first cookbook deal. Now, food writing and cookery teaching is something I love the most and can’t imagine doing anything else.

COOK: Alissa's Eastern European 'Spag Bol' Recipe

What is one kitchen tip everyone should know?

My one kitchen tip would be to save your jars, they come in so handy! I have a whole shelf full of sterilised jars ready for fermentation, spice storage or to be gifted with something yummy inside.

What are the components of a fantastic meal for you?

A fantastic meal is made up of good company, beautiful setting, good drinks and fascinating story telling! Food of course is paramount but it’s about sharing it with others that is equally essential!

TRY: Alissa's Tatar Pilaw recipe

What do you cook, when you’re cooking for yourself?

As a mom of two I hardly get any meals by myself but I do love them a lot! I get two days a week when my littlest one is at nursery. I love doing a fridge forage type of salad combining veg, beans and pulses, grains, lots of herbs and some kind of protein. My go to would be a variation on a Niçoise salad with lots of capers, mustard, lemon juice and parsley in the dressing.

What dish do you make most often?

The dish that appears on our family table most often is a Hungarian chicken and mushroom paprikash! This is one of my favourite recipes from Kapusta. It’s so simple to make, requires only a handful of ingredients and tastes absolutely out-of-this-world delicious! It’s the combo of smoked paprika and sour cream that does it for me! Served with pasta it’s a real crowd pleaser.

What is your favourite ingredient to work with and why?

My favourite ingredient is brine! Any kind of brine, mainly the sauerkraut one, but I also love fermented cucumbers and tomatoes. It’s like a magic elixir that is not only bursting with gut-friendly bacteria but it’s a real flavour bomb; that amplifies the umami tang in any dish! If you don’t have any fermented brine, a store-bought pickle liquid does the trick too. My favourite combo is pickle liquid with tahini! It makes an insane dressing for salads, grilled meats and anything else really!

MAKE: Alissa's Vegan Borsch with mushrooms and prunes recipe

What’s your favourite kitchen tool - do you go in for gadgetry?

I’m not a massive gadget person; I love common sense cooking that requires the same “tools” used by cooks for generations upon generations. However, I do own some modern gadgets like food processors and stand mixers. My favourite however is a simple Microplane which I can’t cook without. I use it to grate garlic into sauces and dressings, to zest lemons and oranges, and to grate spices like cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.

Which cookbooks have shaped the way you cook, or think about food?

I am such an obsessive cookbook collector! There are a lot of books that have shaped my cooking and writing. From Claudia Roden, Yotam Ottolenghi and Anya von Bremzen to Olia Hercules, Caroline Eden, Alice Zaslavsky and Honey & Co.