Velykden Recipes: The Ukrainian Easter Table
Velykden – Ukraine’s “Great Day” – is the biggest feast of the Orthodox year, arriving after forty days of Lenten fasting. The centerpiece is paska, the tall egg-rich bread blessed in its basket at church before anyone at the table may eat it. Once the blessing is done and the fast breaks, the rest of the spread returns in full: cabbage rolls, garlic bread, and everything Lent set aside.
Velykden closes the cycle that starts with Sviata Vecheria’s meatless Christmas Eve and continues through Malanka’s Old New Year revelry – see the Sviata Vecheria table and the Malanka feast for the rest of the season.
Paska – The Blessed Bread
The Feast That Follows
MAIN
Traditional Ukrainian Holubtsi
Cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice – once the fast lifts, meat returns to the table.
BREAD
Traditional Ukrainian Pampushky
Garlic-brushed yeast rolls, pulled apart and passed around the Easter table.
LIGHTER TAKE
Healthy Ukrainian Holubtsi
The same cabbage rolls with a leaner filling.
LIGHTER TAKE
Healthy Pampushky
Same soft garlic rolls, lighter on butter.