Russian Cheese Piroshki Food

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.

RUSSIAN PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Make the Dough In a bowl, mix together sugar and yeast, then add 60 ml (1/4 cup) lukewarm milk and whisk until the sugar and yeast are dissolved. Leave, covered, in a warm place for 15 minutes, until frothy and bubbly. In a big bowl, whisk together 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, the rest of the milk, butter and salt. Whisk in the yeast mixture, once it's frothy. Add flour, one cup at a time and keep whisking. When the dough becomes too thick for the whisk, use your hands. Mix the dough until the ingredients are just combined and form a ball. Tip the dough onto a surface dusted with flour and knead it for just a minute, until it becomes soft and supple. Grease a bowl large enough to hold the proofed dough with oil. Place the dough inside, then turn it over so both sides are covered with oil. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough doubles in size. Make the filling Spring onion, ramps and egg filling Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to get a uniform filling. Or spiced beef and rice filling Place a frying pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté them for 5 minutes, until they are translucent, but not browned. Add the ground beef, garlic, salt, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and black pepper. Fry, stirring and breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, for 10-12 minutes, or until it's cooked through and there are no streaks of pink. Mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped mint and parsley, and the cooked rice. Take off the heat, taste and adjust salt if needed. Or potato, caramelized onions and Parmesan filling Cut peeled potatoes into 6 pieces each, place in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil over medium high heat, add the salt, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, until potatoes are completely cooked through and a knife can be easily inserted into it. Take the potatoes out and mash them, using a fork or a potato masher. Do not use a blender because it makes the filling too smooth. Yes, too smooth is not always a good thing. Mix in the milk and 1 tablespoon of butter. Place a frying pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Fry them over medium heat for 20 minutes, mixing every 2 minutes at first and then every 1 minute. The onions will become translucent first and then will start to caramelize slowly. The trick is to give them the time to brown, but not too much so they burn. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the onions a few minutes before taking them off the heat. In a bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, the caramelized onions, Parmesan and a grind of black pepper. Taste and adjust salt, if needed. Assemble pirozhki Line a baking tray with baking paper. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer to a surface dusted with flour. Divide the dough into two and leave one half in a bowl, covered with towel to prevent it from drying out. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces. With your hands, pat each piece of dough into an oval, approximately 11x7 cm (4x3 inches). Place 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling in the middle, then bring the long sides of the oval to the center and pinch them together, going from the center towards the ends of the pirozhok. Place it on the baking tray. Repeat to the rest of the dough. Once all the pirozhki are ready, cover them with a towel and leave in a warm place to proof for the second time, for about 30 minutes, until they puff up. Bake pirozhki Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Brush the pirozhki with egg yolk and place them in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve pirozhki hot with a cup of sweetened black tea or a glass of milk. Or fry pirozhki Prepare a plate lined with a paper towel. Pour sunflower oil into a dutch oven (or a heavy-bottom pan) until it's about 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) high. You need enough oil so when you put a pirozhok in, the oil covers half of it. Place the dutch oven over medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, insert the end of a wooden spoon into it. If the oil starts bubbling around the spoon, you are good to go. Carefully place pirozhki, seam down, into the hot oil, leaving some space between them. My dutch oven is 22 cm (8.5 inches) and I fry 4 pirozhki at a time. Let them fry for 2 minutes, until they turn golden brown, then flip them on the other side and fry for 1 more minute (Start checking if they turned golden a bit earlier to avoid burning them). With a slotted spoon take pirozhki out and place them on a plate, lined with paper towel. Remove any extra oil with more paper towels. Repeat to the rest of pirozhki. Serve pirozhki hot with a cup of sweetened black tea or a glass of milk.

RUSSIAN CHEESE PIROSHKI

Steps:

• Completely dissolve sour cream with a little bit of milk. You may use a whisk.
• Pour the gallon of milk and the dissolved sour cream into an oven safe pot.
• Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set the pot in a safe place where its not too cool.
• Very Important: Mark this day as day 1. You will cook the milk on day 3.
• On day 3: Heat oven to 325°F Remove plastic wrap.
• Bake in the same pot for 3 hours.
• Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes.
• Drain completely in cheese clothe. Squeeze water out if you have to.
• At this point you may refrigerate this cheese in a sealed container for latter use.
• Preheat oven for 200F for 5-10 minutes and than turn off.
• Meanwhile place frozen rolls on a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
• Place in the warm oven. (If the oven is too hot, leave the door open for no more than 5 minutes).
• This is the quick defrosting process. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours.
• Microwave cream cheese for 45 seconds to soften.
• With a large spoon, mix together your prepared cheese, condensed milk, whipped cream, cream cheese, and vanilla.
• Take your biscuits out of the oven.
• Note: Do not uncover all of them at once or they will dry out!
• Very lightly flour your palms and fingers. Flatten a roll in your palms.
• Fill with a heaping Tbsp of filling and press shut around the edges using your fingers.
• Heat oil in a deep skillet on medium heat. The oil should rise about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.
• Fry several of the piroshki on both sides.
• Cover between flippings.
• They cook about 2 minutes or less, but be careful not to burn them.
• You will need to watch the skillet the entire time now and may not leave.
• Place Piroshki in a strainer or on napkins to collect excess oil.
• They keep well in fridge for several days, But I assure you they will get eaten before then.

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.

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.

TAYLOR'S PIROSHKI

Steps:

• In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly browned; drain. Stir in the onion and cook with the beef until translucent. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and dill weed to taste. Allow to cool before using.
• Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water and place in a warm location until frothy, about 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the milk and gently whisk in the eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Remove from heat.
• Place half the flour in a large mixing bowl and gradually stir in the milk mixture. Then add the yeast solution alternately with the remaining flour, stirring after each addition. Mix well. Knead until the dough forms a ball and does not stick to the bowl. (Note: Start with the 4 cups of flour. You may need to add more, a little at a time, as you knead the dough). Cover the bowl with a clean cloth. Set in a warm location and allow to rise until doubled in volume.
• Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off pieces approximately the size of golf balls. Roll the pieces into disks about 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.
• Fill center of each disk with a heaping tablespoon of the cooled meat mixture. Fold disks over the mixture and firmly pinch edges to seal. Arrange on a flat surface and allow to sit approximately 10 minutes.
• In an large, heavy skillet or deep fryer, heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry the piroshki in batches until golden brown on one side; gently turn and fry the other side. Remove and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.