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Banosh
Hutsul cornmeal cooked in sour cream, with bryndza and mushrooms
Banosh is the shepherds' dish of the Hutsul highlands in the Ukrainian Carpathians, around Verkhovyna, Kosiv and Yaremche. Coarse cornmeal is stirred into simmering sour cream over a fire until the butterfat beads on the surface, then heaped on plates and crumbled with salty bryndza sheep's cheese and forest mushrooms; tourists queue for it in the mountain kolyba restaurants. Traditionally it is also topped with crisp pork crackling, which this vegetarian version leaves out in favour of extra buttery mushrooms. Bryndza is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a sheep's or feta cheese labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: stir in one direction only with a wooden spoon, as the Hutsuls insist; it keeps the porridge smooth and helps the fat separate out, which tells you it is ready.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the banosh
For the topping
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Melt 1 oz butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 1 onion for 4 minutes until soft, then add 10 ½ oz mushrooms and ¼ tsp salt and cook for 8–10 minutes, until the liquid has gone and the mushrooms are browned at the edges. Keep warm.
14 minStep 2: In a heavy pan bring 14 oz sour cream (smetana), 1 ¼ cups whole milk and ¾ tsp salt to a gentle simmer over a medium heat, stirring so the cream does not catch.
4 minStep 3: Pour in 6 ½ oz coarse cornmeal (polenta) in a thin stream with one hand, stirring constantly with the other. Common mistake: tipping the cornmeal in all at once, which gives lumps you cannot beat out later.
Step 4: Turn the heat to low and keep stirring in one direction for 12–15 minutes. It is ready when the porridge pulls away from the sides of the pan and little beads of yellow butterfat appear on the surface.
15 minStep 5: Spoon onto warm plates, top with the mushrooms, crumble over 5 ½ oz bryndza or feta and scatter with 1 tbsp dill. Eat at once, while the cheese softens on top.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does banosh take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sour cream (smetana)?
- Greek yoghurt, same amount.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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