Ukrainian Cheese Crust Pyrizhky Recipes

UKRAINIAN BORSCH WITH PYRIZHKY (PYROHY) (PIROSHKI)

Steps:

• Day before: In 8-quart kettle, place beef, marrowbone, 1 Tablespoon salt and 2 quarts water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1 hour. Add tomatoes, quartered onion, celery, parsley, black peppers and bay leaves; simmer, covered, 2 hours.
• Remove from heat. Lift out beef. Discard marrowbone. Strain soup in colander. (There should be 9 or 10 cups.) Return soup and beef to kettle. Add cabbage, carrot, chopped onion, 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, the vinegar, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; bring to boiling.
• Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until beef and vegetables are tender. Refrigerate overnight. Next day, skim off fat. Remove beef; cut into 1-inch cubes; coarsely chop 1 1/4 cups of the meat for the pyrizhky; return rest to soup along with beets. Makes 3 1/2 quarts.
• FOR THE PYRIZHKY: Remove patty shells from package; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes to soften.
• Meanwhile, in hot butter in small skillet, sauté onion 2 minutes. Add 3 Tablespoons sour cream, the 1 1/4 cup chopped beef, dill, salt, pepper; mix well; reserve and cool.
• Preheat oven to 425°F On lightly floured pastry cloth, roll EACH patty shell to make oblong 8 by 5 inches; cut in HALF crosswise. Spread a rounded tablespoon of filling on half of EACH piece. Fold other half over filling; crimp edges to seal; cut slits in top.
• Place on cookie sheet lined with heavy brown paper or parchment paper. Brush with egg yolk beaten with 1 Tablespoon water. Bake 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Makes 12.
• Meanwhile, heat soup gently to boiling. Serve with sour cream, dill and the warm pyrizhky.

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.

UKRAINIAN PYRIZHKY WITH MEAT FILLING (STUFFED BUNS)

Steps:

• PYRIZHKY DOUGH: Dissolve the sugar and ginger in the lukewarm water, sprinkle the yeast over it, and let it stand for 10 minutes.
• To the hot scalded milk, add the butter, and cool to lukewarm.
• Add the eggs, salt, sugar, and yeast.
• Mix in enough flour to make a medium soft dough as for bread.
• Knead on a floured board until smooth and satiny.
• Return to the bowl, cover, and let it rise until double in bulk.
• Punch down, knead a few times in the bowl, and let it rise again.
• Use any favorite filling in the recipes that follow.
• TO MAKE THE PYRIZHKY, cut off small egg-sized pieces of dough, flatten each or roll 1/4 inch thick.
• Place a generous portion of the filling in the center, bring the edges together, and press to seal securely.
• (I wet the edges with a bit of beaten egg white and seal with well floured fingertips).
• All edges must be free of filling.
• Shape into an oblong with a plump center and tapering ends (like a football).
• This is the traditional shape of pyrizhky.
• As an alternative method, the dough may be rolled 1/4 inch thick, cut into squares, filled, and sealed as directed.
• Place, sealed side down, on a greased baking sheet, spacing them 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Cover and let them rise in a warm place until light, for about 1 hour.
• Brush them with a beaten egg diluted with 2 tablespoons of water or milk.
• Bake in a moderate oven (375 degree F) for 30 to 35 minutes depending on their size.
• MEAT FILLING: Cook the onion in half of the butter until it is tender.
• Add the remaining butter and the meat.
• Brown the meat lightly.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook over a low heat until done.
• Remove the meat.
• Stir the flour into the drippings.
• Add the soup stock or water, then cook, until the sauce comes to a boil.
• Combine with the meat and cool.
• Mix in the parsley and chopped eggs.
• *I like to use left-over cooked roast put through a meat grinder or food processor,is more flavourful.

UKRAINIAN FARMER'S CHEESE PATTIES (SYRNYKY)

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the brandy or water to a boil. Take brandy or water off the heat and add the raisins and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and dry with paper towels. Set aside.
• Press the farmer's cheese through a fine sieve. Combine it in a large bowl with the dried raisins, egg yolks, sour cream, 1/3 cup flour, cream of wheat, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Mix thoroughly and add salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Form the cheese mixture into twelve round flat patties about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Dust the patties on both sides with the 1 Tablespoon flour.
• Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add as many patties as will comfortably fit and fry until deep golden on both sides.
• Repeat with the remaining patties. Serve at once. Serves 4-6.
• NOTE: Pot cheese is a medium dry cottage cheese, also known as pressed cottage cheese. If drained until dry and crumbly, it becomes farmer's cheese. Both pot cheese and farmer's cheese can be found in Eastern European grocery stores and cheese shops; many supermarkets also stock farmer's cheese.
• VANILLA SUGAR: Bury a large vanilla bean in a 2 to 3 pound container of sugar and store for at least 1 week before using.

UKRAINIAN CHEESE CRUST PYRIZHKY

Steps:

• Cream the butter with the cottage cheese and sugar.
• Sift the flour with the cinnamon and salt.
• Combine both mixtures and mix well.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Pit the prunes, split into halves, and fill each half with a mixture of the nuts and honey.
• Roll the dough 1/8 inch thick and cut into rounds.
• Place the filled prune-half on each round, bring the edges together, seal, and shape into an oblong.
• This is the traditional shape for pyrizhky.
• Place on a baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and make a slit on the top of each for the steam to escape.
• Bake in a moderate over 350 degrees F.
• for 15 to 20 minutes, or until delicately browned.
• Yield: 40 pyrizhky.