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...could be a Pirozhki or even a Piroshki...
Looks like from .1 and the referenced replies there are about as many
variations on the theme as there are villages in Poland and Russia.
Anyway, here's a few more to add to the repertoire:
- Bill, the (in)famous Swiss, Mexican, Chinese, German, etc. chef
From Jeff Smith's, The Frugal Gourmet, pp. 372-3:
Pierogi -- Stuffed Dough Pockets
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This is a classic Polish dish. The dough is easy, and the fillings are
endless.
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
About 4 tablespoons cold water
Filling (below)
Melted butter
Bread crumbs for topping
Mix the flour, egg, and salt with enough water to make a medium-soft
dough. Knead well; then roll out until thin. Cut into squares to make
40 pierogi or into 40 circles about 3.25 inches in diameter.
Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square or circle, and
fold the dough in half to make a triangle or half-circle. Pinch
the edges well to keep the dumplings from falling apart.
To cook, drop into salted water and cook, covered, until all the pierogi
float to the top, about 10 minutes. Cook, still covered, for five minutes
longer. Drain, and place on a heated platter. Drizzle melted butter
over the dumplings, and sprinkle with a few bread crumbs.
Pierogi Fillings
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Cheese:
1/2 pound cottage cheese, drained well
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Sauerkraut and mushroom:
1.5 tablesponns cooked dried mushrooms (These mushrooms are necessary
to good Polish cooking and they can be found in fancy
food shops. You do not need expensive dried imported
Italian mushrooms, and you will find domestic varieties as well
as good varieties from South America, mainly Chile. Ask
for domestic or South American dried boletus.)
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
Browned butter (to prepare, simply melt butter in a saucepan
and gently heat until it browns.)
Bread crumbs
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid for a later soup stock. Chop the
mushrooms, and saute' in a bit of the butter along with the sauerkraut,
pepper, and sugar. You do not want to brown the sauerkraut but only to
cook it a bit with the mushrooms; much of the moisture of the sauerkraut
will evaporate. Top with breadcrumbs and more browned butter.
Potato:
1 large potato, cooked and mashed
1/4 yellow onion, peeled, chopped, and browned
1 tablespoon melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons cottage cheese, drained
Mix together all ingredients.
* * * * *
Pierogi are close cousins of the Russian Pirozhki or Piroshki
Kay Shaw Nelson's, The Eastern European Cookbook, pp. 14-5:
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Mushroom-filled Pirozhki
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Small oval or round plump pastries made with nonsweet dough and filled with
various food combinations are called pirozhki. The term is derived from an
old Russian word 'pir,' meaning feast. Pirozhki are made with both raised
dough and plain pastry, and can be filled with mixtures based on mushrooms,
cabbage, chicken, ground beef or fish. Pirozhki are popular appetizers and
also are served with soups. Generally those that will be used with soups
are made a little larger, about 5 inches in diameter.
1 envelope active dry yeast 4.5-5 cups all-purpose flour
or 1 cake compressed yeast 3 eggs
1/4 cup lukewarm water mushroom filler (below)
1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 egg yolk
1 cup lukewarm milk 2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Sprinkle the yeast or crumble the cake into a large bowl and add water.
After a minute or two stir to dissolve. (Use very warm water for dry
yeast and lukewarm for cake yeast.) Put butter in milk and leave until
melted. Add butter and milk, with salt and sugar, to yeast. Stir in
1 cup of flour and then eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the
remaining flour, enough to make a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board.
Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Form into a large ball and put in
a greased bowl. Turn the dough over so it becomes greased on both sides.
Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk,
about 1.5 hours. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead
until smooth and elastic. Cut off small pieces of dough and flatten into
thin circles, about 2.5 inches in diameter. Place about 1 teaspoon of
Mushroom filling in the center of each circle. Bring up the dough around
the filling to secure completely and shape into a smooth round. Place on
a greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 20 minutes, or until pirozhki are light
and somewhat larger. Mix the egg yolk with the water and brush the tops
with it. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400 F.) for about 20 minutes, or
until the tops are golden and the dough is baked. Serve warm. Makes about
3.5 dozen.
Mushroom Filling (for above pirozhkis)
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1/2 pound fresh mushrooms Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
1/2 chopped green onions, with 3 Tablespoons chopped dill or
tops parsley
3 tablespoons butter or 1/4 cup sour cream, at room temp.
margarine
Clean mushrooms by rinsing quickly or wiping with wet paper towels. Cut
off any tough stem ends. Chop finely. Saute' chopped green onions in butter
until tender. Add chopped mushrooms and saute' 4 minutes. Season with
salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in dill and sour cream.
Let cool.
...and from Nikki & David Goldbeck's, American Wholefoods Cuisine, p. 281:
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Russian Vegetable Turnovers
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Piroshki is the Russian name for individual turnovers. The filling can be
anything from meat to kasha to vegetables. This one is made with a biscuit
dough crust.
For the filling:
3 cups raw vegetables including:
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 to 1.5 cups shredded greens (beet tops, celery tops,
spinach, cabbage)
1/2 to 1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
any other shredded vegetables of choice
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy flour
2 tablespoons water
3-4 tablespoons cream cheese
For the dough:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup milk
To prepare filling, combine vegetables, oil, and dill in a pot, cover and
cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and a paste of soy flour and water and cook,
stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until thick. Cool while you prepare the dough.
For dough, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir in oil.
Add cottage cheese and milk and stir to make a soft dough.
Knead dough gently on a well-floured surface. Roll or pat into a large rec-
tangle 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2-inch rounds, reroll trimmings, and con-
tinue until you have made 24 rounds.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Top half the rounds with 1 tablespoon vegetable filling. Take a scant
teaspoon cream cheese, press flat, and place over vegetables. Top with
a plain round of dough and pinch edges to seal.
Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly
colored. Serve warm. Makes 12 turnovers; serves 6 to 12.
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