16th
ALL OVER THE WORLD, people make dumplings, different variations of boiled unleavened dough filled with meat or vegetables. In Italy it’s ravioli, in Poland pierogies, Sweden has pitepalt, and China has jiaozi (fried, they’re served in North America as potstickers). Since I was a kid, my childhood next door neighbour, Kim, has made pedahe (pronounced pet-a-hay) the Ukrainian version of the pierogi filled with mashed potato and cheese. Using a recipe passed directly to her from her immigrant Ukrainian grandmother, Kim has made the dish an annual Christmas tradition, sharing just a few pedahe with lucky friends. Usually too few. This year, I finally convinced her to let me help make the batches for Christmas in exchange for the recipe. We made a dozen dozen!