Easy Piroshki Food

BEEF PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Combine 1 scant cup of warm milk and yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let sit until foamy and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, egg, butter, and almost all of the flour, holding back a small amount in case dough gets too dry.
• Knead in the mixer until dough is soft and supple. Scrape dough onto your work surface. Grease the bowl with a few drops of oil and place dough back in. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• In the meantime, heat olive oil and butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, ground beef, and garlic. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook beef, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Stir dill into the beef mixture. Add chicken broth and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Stir in Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Let filling cool completely.
• Transfer dough to a work surface. Press out air bubbles. Pinch off a piece of dough and form into a ball; press into a disc. Dust with a minimal amount of flour and roll into a circle about 1/8-inch thick and 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Dip your finger in water and dampen the edges of the circle.
• Place dough circle in 1 hand and add a few tablespoons of the beef filling. Pinch edges together to seal. Place pirozhki on the table seam-side up and pinch off any excess dough; too much dough will make it hard to fry. Moisten the center of the seam with water. Fold the 2 ends inward and flip pirozhki over, seam-side down; press down lightly.
• Form the remaining pirozhki and let them rest until dough rises slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry pirozhki in batches, seam-side down, until golden brown, about 90 seconds. Flip and fry until browned on the other side, about 90 seconds more. Drain on paper towels and cool for a few minutes.

PIROSHKY (PIROSHKI)

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water and let stand 10 minutes. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in flour and add milk, egg, oil and yeast. Combine to make a soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes. Let rise one half hour to one hour.
• Brown chopped onion and garlic. In separate pan, brown ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion. Cool meat mixture and remove solidified fat.
• Pinch a golf-ball sized piece of dough, flatten with fingers or roll out to 1/8" thickness. Place 2 Tbsp filling in center and bring opposite edges of circle together. Pinch securely. (The traditional shape is a plump center with tapering ends.).
• Let piroshkis rise seam side down, 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Brush with egg and bake until golden brown (approx 20 min, it depends on the size). The piroshky may also be deep fried.
• Ed. Note: I also like to add about 1 cup cheese sauce powder (sometimes found in bulk food stores) to the meat mix. I find it gives a slightly cheesy taste. If I do that, I omit the salt.

TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup milk in a cup or small bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour the remaining milk into a large bowl.
• Add the melted butter, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour to the large bowl with the milk. Stir in the yeast mixture. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and doesn't stick to your hands. Cover the bowl loosely and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour. Dough should almost triple in size.
• While you wait for the dough to rise, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage has wilted. Mix in the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender. Set this aside for the filling.
• Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a long snake about 2 inches wide. Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten the balls by hand until they are 4 to 5 inches across. Place a spoonful of the cabbage filling in the center and fold in half to enclose. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line one or two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Place the pirozhki onto the baking sheet, leaving room between them for them to grow.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

HOMEMADE PIEROGI

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine flour and salt; cover and pulse to blend. Add water, eggs and butter; cover and pulse until dough forms a ball, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed. Let rest, covered, 15 to 30 minutes., Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions in butter until tender; set aside., Drain potatoes. Over very low heat, stir potatoes until steam has evaporated, 1-2 minutes. Press through a potato ricer or strainer into a large bowl. Stir in cream cheese, salt, pepper and onion mixture; set aside., Divide dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness; cut with a floured 3-in. biscuit cutter. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in center of each circle. Moisten edges with water; fold in half and press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bring a Dutch oven of water to a boil over high heat; add pierogi in batches. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until pierogi float to the top and are tender, 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. In a large skillet, saute 4 pierogi and onion in butter until pierogi are lightly browned and heated through; sprinkle with parsley. Repeat with remaining pierogi. Freeze option: Place cooled pierogi on waxed paper-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pans; freeze until firm. Transfer to an airtight freezer container; freeze up to 3 months. To use, for each serving, in a large skillet, saute 4 pierogi and 1/4 cup chopped onion in 1 tablespoon butter until pierogi are lightly browned and heated through; sprinkle with minced fresh parsley.

PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt and sugar, mix and then add yeast. Add the butter, egg, milk and cumin. Mix until smooth, cover and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature to rise. Mix duck, plums, walnuts and remaining ingredients place on stove and simmer for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles. Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in the center of each circle, fold over and crimp edges. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve with sour cream and grilled apples.

BEEF & ONION PIROSHKI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, garlic, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; crumble beef; drain. Cool to room temperature., Stir the spinach, cheese, sour cream and dill into the beef mixture. On a lightly floured surface, roll a puff-pastry sheet into a 12-in. square. Cut into sixteen 3-in. squares. Repeat with remaining sheet., Spoon 1 tablespoon beef mixture onto the center of each square. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle; press edges with a fork to seal. Transfer to greased baking sheets. Whisk egg and water; brush over tops. Bake at 400° until golden brown, 14-16 minutes.

PIROSHKI (A SAVOURY, FILLED PASTRY)

Steps:

• For pastry: Cut butter into pieces.
• Combine flour, butter, and salt using a knife or pastry blender.
• Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons ice water.
• Form into ball as you would pie dough.
• May need to add remaining 2 tablespoons water.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Place pastry dough on floured board; roll out into rectangle.
• Fold over into thirds.
• Roll out again into rectangle.
• Continue rolling and folding five times.
• Rewrap in plastic; return to refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Grease baking sheet.
• Roll dough out to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut dough using 3 ½-inch round cutter.
• Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on each pastry circle.
• Fold dough over making half moons; press together edges together using ice water to seal.
• Place pies on baking sheet.
• Whisk together egg yolk and 2 tblsps water; brush pies with egg wash.
• Bake about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
• For Meat Filling: sauté onion in 2 tablespoons butter until soft.
• Add ground beef and sear until light gravy forms.
• Let cool.
• Mix in egg, dill, salt and pepper.
• For Potato Filling: Fry the onions in the butter until soft and golden-brown.
• Boil the potatoes in their jackets, then peel and mash them.
• Let cool slightly.
• Season with plenty of salt and pepper and mix in the onions and egg.
• For Mushroom Filling: In a pan or skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion, and shallots in the butter until the onion is translucent.
• Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Continue to cook, stirring until nearly all the moisture is evaporated.
• Cool mixture slightly and mix in cream cheese or mashed potato.
• I like to sprinkle poppy seeds over the egg washed pastries filled with the mushroom filling.
• Note: these pastries are very good made with phyllo pastry, too.