Sour Cherries and Sunflowers

Explore Eastern European food culture and identity, through over 80 delicious, entirely achievable recipes.

Food is grounding; it connects us to our past, moves with people across borders, and is ever evolving. Anastasia Zolotarev draws on her Ukrainian and Belarusian heritage and celebrates the food and flavours of Eastern Europe. Through the pages, she finds the balance between preserving tradition and sharing the evolution of her family's recipes.

Sour Cherries & Sunflowers celebrates culture and connection, with recipes to preserve and feed the soul. For slow mornings at home, there are Blueberry and Buckwheat Pancakes, whilst Pyrizhky and Varenyky dumpling recipes are shared with tales of family gatherings around the table. You'll find open rye sandwiches and Blini for celebrations and special gatherings, everyday recipes like babka and borsch, as well as salads, preserves, and even desserts such as Honey, Walnut and Soured Cream Cakeand Plum Rogaliki cookies.

Review: Just like its title, the entire book radiates light, warmth and powerful flavours! Each page, adorned with stunning photographs, is an invitation to take a seat at Anastasia's table or stand next to her in the kitchen, to enjoy these recipes that are full of soul. I tingle with excitement at the thought that these wonderful dishes, which are so diverse in flavours, textures and techniques, will now meet the wider audience, and can't think of a better ambassador for the cuisines of the former-Soviet Eastern European countries than Anastasia. -- Alissa Timoshkina
I love Anastasia's honest writing. Her recipes, combined with beautiful images and full of warm sentiments, celebrate a family kitchen & its memories. A truly inspiring book. -- Tessa Kiros
This is a celebration of Eastern Europe's iconic flavours and the resourcefulness that has sustained its culinary traditions for generations, but it is, above all, a celebration of what it means to carry "home" with you in your heart, wherever you happen to find yourself in the world. -- Irina Janakievska
Deeply evocative and instructional! What a treasure trove of family recipes, memories, and experiences Anastasia is gifting us with! Prepare to be instantly transported into her Babushkas' kitchens, where you'll never want to leave. -- Alice Zaslavsky
A beautiful and sensitive celebration of traditional and modern Eastern European cooking. Written by a writer who loves and cares with all her heart. -- Olia Hercules