THE BLACK SEA

The kitchens that encircle this great body of water between Europe and Asia harbour fabulous fusion dishes, from Russian kebabs served on lavash bread to börek-like Bulgarian pies stuffed with sorrel, chard, eggs and cheese

Over centuries empires great and small have spanned the Black Sea, a watery expanse shared by Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia and Russia. Many migrants have passed over the waves, too, from émigrés fleeing Russia to deportees from the Caucasus and refugees from the Balkans. This ebb and flow has left a rich mix of food cultures around the Black Sea and, while heirloom recipes carried to new lands are as guarded and treasured as trinkets and memories in these parts, there are still many distinctions between the surrounding regions.

Odessa, a handsome port city, for instance, is part of Ukraine yet distinct from it, with a cuisine influenced by Jewish and Italian traditions. Here you can eat braided challah bread with a bowl of pasta, because Italians opened the first restaurants in Odessa and, before the Nazis’ Romanian allies invaded, this was an intensely Jewish city.

Along the coast, Romanian towns offer mamaliga (polenta) dishes, punchy sour soups and mussels galore, while Bulgaria is salad country, with plump, sweet pink tomatoes that go brilliantly with local brined sirene cheese. Both countries share a love of stuffed leaves with Turkey, and long traditions of pickling fruit and vegetables with Ukraine.

Across the border, the cuisine of Turkey’s huge Black Sea region is full of smoky and buttery flavours. This is where enormous cherry orchards bloom and tea plantations roll down to the sea. So loved are hamsi (anchovies) that traditional dances have been styled on their movements. Batumi, on the Georgian coast, means bowls of spinach pkhali (a minced vegetable dip), walnut-stuffed aubergine rolls and Adjarian khachapuri, a glistening canoe-shaped bread with a wobbling egg in its centre. Russia’s Black Sea coast promises kebabs on lavash bread, fresh flounder and classics such as blini, borscht and caviar. All pair well with local vodka or Georgian wine. »