Home Food: 100 Recipes to Comfort and Connect, written by Olia Hercules, features favorite recipes inspired by her childhood in Ukraine, years in Cyprus and Italy, and current home in London. A few highlights include Lamb Chops in Kefir and Harissa Marinade, Steamed Cabbage with Sunflower Seed Dressing, Sea Urchin Pasta, Dark Greens Soup with Blue Cheese, and Walnut Esterhazy Torte. I will also be sharing her recipe for Savory French Toast following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Interlink Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Olia Hercules
Olia Hercules is a chef, food writer, and food stylist. She was born in Kakhovka, Ukraine with Siberian, Jewish, Bessarabian (Moldovan), Uzbek, and Armenian roots.
She lived in Cyprus for 5 years before moving to London for school, receiving a BA in Italian followed by a MA in Russian and English.
Her interest in cooking grew and she trained as a chef at Leith’s School of Food and Wine. Her work can be found in Sainsbury’s, The Recipe Kit, and the Guardian. Olia is also the author of Mamushka, Kaukasis, and Summer Kitchens.
Home Food

Olia begins Home Food with a short introduction of her life and how her food memories have been shaped by her family and experiences.
The pages are filled with beautifully written stories for an even stronger connection to the recipes and history behind the dishes.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Introduction; Home: How We Eat Now; Migrations: My Family, Interwoven Foods, Cultures, and Memories; La Libertà Che Mi Vuole: An Italian Interlude; Potatoes and Cabbages: The Food That Shaped Me; Celebrating Together: The Magic of Festive Food; Food and Love: Cooking as Self-Care; Lime Tree Honey in the Air: Sweetness; and Useful Recipes: New Pantry Staples.
The photography is provided by Joe Woodhouse. Most of the recipes are paired with gorgeous half to full page photo of the finished dish. Olia has also provided QR codes for a few of the more intricate recipes to demonstrate specific techniques through video.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English or the original language. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, personal stories, helpful tips, yield, and serving ideas.
Savory French Toast

This Savory French Toast was made by Olia’s mother when she was a child. It is incredibly comforting, comes together in less than 30 minutes, and with only a few ingredients (most of which I often have in the pantry). Chad actually now prefers it over sweeter varieties of French Toast.
Slightly stale slices of bread are rubbed with garlic, soaked in a beaten egg mixture, then pan-fried in butter until golden and set.
It is served warm with a bit of mayonnaise and heavy sprinkling of shredded Gouda cheese.
Olia’s mother would use a store-bought fluffy white bread for the Savory French Toast. Olia has a recipe for Bread for Eating (Japanese-style Shokupan) in the book perfect to use as the base. I went with thick slices of milk bread from a local Chinese bakery.
Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise is recommended since it has a taste similar to the type of mayonnaise used during Olia’s childhood.
The texture of the cheese is best when shredded with the larger, coarse side of the grater, not finely grated.
Adjust the temperature as needed when pan-frying the bread to allow the sides to turn golden, but also give the interior a chance to set.
Other Dishes

I also made Pasta with Confit Garlic, Goat Cheese, and Thyme; White Ragù of Genoa, Naples, and Odesa; Lazanky with Tomato Sauce; and Greta’s Lithuanian Buckwheat Cake.
I loved so many of the pasta dishes in Home Food, but I think the Pasta with Confit Garlic, Goat Cheese, and Thyme may be my favorite. It is so easy too! Spaghetti noodles are coated in a garlicky, creamy goat cheese sauce and topped with confit garlic cloves. The remaining goat cheese sauce is quite delicious paired with lettuce leaves and a drizzle of vinegar.
My kids particularly enjoyed the White Ragù of Genoa, Naples, and Odesa. Lots of sliced onions are cooked until softened, then simmered with ground beef and pork. The resulting sauce is served with rigatoni or other tubular pasta and an optional (so so good) pangrattato (flavored breadcrumbs).
The Lazanky with Tomato Sauce pairs homemade diamond-shaped pieces of pasta with a simple and comforting tomato sauce. Forming the pasta was a fun activity and a hit with the kids.
The recipe for Greta’s Lithuanian Buckwheat Cake was given to Olia by Lithuanian-born London chef Greta Zilyte. This naturally gluten-free cake is delicious paired with coffee. Olia also uses it as the base for her Quince Trifle and Buckwheat Cake Tiramisu.

Home Food is a great pick for those interested in a fantastic collection of comforting recipes influenced by Ukraine, Cyprus, Italy, and England. The dishes range from easy meals perfect for single servings or date nights to spreads made for larger families.
Most of the ingredients are readily available in the average American grocery store. A few items that may require further searching include sorrel, saffron, tamarind paste, cardamom pods, pomegranate molasses, wild garlic, pork belly, stracciatella cheese, and buckwheat flour.
Savory French Toast Recipe
Excerpt from Home Food
Savory French Toast
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) whole milk
- 1 small garlic clove halved
- 4 slices stale-ish bread
- Unsalted butter to fry
- 2-4 tablespoons mayonnaise store-bought is fine, Japanese Kewpie the best
- 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) Gouda cheese or similar, coarsely grated
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Whisk the eggs with the milk in a broad, shallow bowl and season with salt.
- Take the garlic clove and rub it on the crusts of the bread, then dip the bread in the egg mixture, and let it soak for a few moments on each side.
- Heat a good pat of butter in a pan until it froths up and add the bread, frying for 2 minutes on each side or until set and golden brown. It will start smelling toasted, like brown butter, soon enough.
- Olia states, "Now for the mayo. I am a purist, and when it comes to childhood recipes, swapping out less rubbish bread is as far as I go. I like store-bought here. The Soviet stuff we had was quite acidic, almost spiky; Japanese mayo tastes similar. You can go crazy and add other things to the mayo as an experiment, but mine remains untouched. Spread a little bit (1 teaspoon) on the warm toast and then make it snow with the cheese. The cheese must be grated on the coarse side of the grater. Enjoy."
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