Perhaps no single object captures the soul of Eastern European cooking better than the humble spoon. At once cutlery and cooking tool, it embodies simplicity, generosity and abundance. It is the first utensil we are fed with as infants and the one that carries us through a lifetime of meals - familiar, comforting and enduring.
Lozhka (the Slavic word for "spoon") celebrates the dishes most closely bound to this symbol of nourishment: soups, stews, dumplings, porridges and sweet comfort bowls. Bringing together 80 seasonal, affordable and flavour-rich recipes, Alissa Timoshkina - author of the acclaimed Kapusta - offers a definitive guide to the food that warms Eastern European kitchens and hearts. From Ukrainian borsch and Bulgarian tarator to Hungarian poerkoelt, festive sweet soups and creamy breakfast porridges, these recipes showcase a cuisine that is vegetable-forward, low-waste and deeply satisfying.
Drawing on her Jewish-Ukrainian-Russian heritage, Alissa blends authentic family traditions with accessible, modern cooking. More than a recipe collection, Lozhka is a cultural journey - an exploration of how a single spoonful can carry history, memory and comfort across generations.