Mushroom Piroshkiepierogi Appetizers T R L Recipes

VARENIKI (RUSSIAN PIEROGI) WITH POTATOES AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain potatoes and mash; season with salt and pepper.
• Combine flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl while potatoes are cooking. Stir sour cream and baking soda together in a second bowl. Add water to flour mixture and blend in, followed by sour cream mixture. Knead into a smooth dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add to mashed potatoes.
• Divide dough into 4 portions and roll each portion into a 1 1/2-inch thick rope. Cut ropes into small 1/2-inch pieces. Press each dough piece into a small flat circle and place 1 teaspoon of potato filling in the center. Fold dough over into a half-moon shape and seal edges.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the vareniki in batches and cook until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain.

MUSHROOM PIEROGI

Steps:

• Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms, and trim stems of white and cremini mushrooms. Place mushrooms in a food processor, and pulse about eight times, until finely chopped. Set aside.
• In a medium saute pan, melt butter and oil over low heat; add shallots. Cook, covered, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is nearly dry, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add cream, thyme, and parsley, and cook about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl.
• To form dumplings, place a heaping teaspoon of the filling toward the front of a circle of pierogi dough. Moisten the edges of the dough with water, and fold in half around filling to form a semicircle, firmly pinching the edges closed. Set aside on a lightly floured baking sheet. Continue to fill and form pierogi, keeping them covered with plastic wrap, until all the dough has been used.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add half the pierogi. Boil gently until they float to the surface, about 2 minutes, and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and repeat with remaining pierogi. Serve immediately.

POTATO AND MUSHROOM PIEROGIES WITH ROASTED APPLES

Steps:

• To make the pierogi dough: Mix the 4 eggs, butter, sour cream, and salt together in a bowl with a whisk. Sift the flour onto a flat work surface and make a well in the center, pour the wet ingredients into the crater. Stir the mixture together with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour into the well until a soft dough forms. Squeeze the dough with your hands, if it¿s too sticky, add a bit of flour; if it¿s not pliable, add a couple of drops of water. Knead the dough, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Gather the dough into a ball and cover it with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap for 10 minutes or so to rest.
• To make the filling: Cook the potato cubes in boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and then mash them with a ricer or regular old potato masher while they are still hot; set them aside to cool while preparing the rest of the filling. Trim the root off the end of the leek and cut off all but 1-inch of the green part. Halve the leek lengthwise and rinse really well under cool water, checking for dirt everywhere; it gets trapped in all the layers of outer leaves. Slice the leek finely. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leek, mushrooms, and thyme, saute for a few minutes to soften the vegetables; season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the vegetables are broken down and almost dry, then pour in the cream, stir to incorporate. Remove the pan from the heat, take out the sprigs of thyme, and scrape the mushroom mixture into the potatoes, mix well to incorporate the ingredients. Make sure the filling is not too hot, or it will start to cook the dough, causing it to sog.
• Lightly flour your rolling pin and counter. Take 1/2 of the dough (leaving the rest covered so it doesn¿t dry out while you work) and roll it out into a thin circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into the center of each pastry circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Beat the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush it on the edges of the circle. Fold the dough over in 1/2 to enclose the filling and form a semi-circle and seal the edges by crimping with the tines of a fork. Lightly tap the bottoms of the dumplings on the counter to make it flat. Repeat with the remaining half of dough and filling. You should make about 35 pierogies; put 1/2 of them in the freezer to keep on hand (they are better than the ones you find in the frozen section of the grocery store.)
• Coat a large saute pan (that has a tight fitting lid) with vegetable oil and place over medium heat. Lay the pierogies in the pan (you may have to do this in batches) and fry them for a couple of minutes until they start to crisp and brown on both sides. Pour in 1 cup of water and cover the pan to let the pierogies steam; when the water evaporates the turnovers should be cooked and crisp. Arrange the pierogies on a platter, garnish with parsley, and serve with roasted apples and/or sour cream.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the apples out in a casserole pan and add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and butter. Bake until the apples are roasted and soft, about 30 minutes. Serve the chunky apple sauce with pierogies, either hot or chilled.

MUSHROOM PIROSHKI

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry and chill it.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Heat the butter in a skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring, until the onions are wilted.
• Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they give up their liquid. Cook until most but not all of the liquid evaporates. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir.
• Add the sour cream, dill, chopped egg and rice. Blend well. There should be about four cups. Remove to a mixing bowl and let cool.
• Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible (less than one-eighthinch thick). Using a 3 1/2-to-5-inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. We used a 4-inch cookie cutter to produce 30 rounds. The dough will shrink after cutting. You may roll out the circles or rounds to make them larger or you may stretch them carefully by hand. Beat the egg with the water. Brush the top of each pastry round with the egg mixture.
• Use about two tablespoons of filling for each circle of dough. Shape the filling into an oval and place it on half of the circle of dough. Fold the other half of the circle of dough over to enclose the filling. Press the edges of the dough with the fingers or the tines of a fork to seal. Brush the tops with egg mixture to seal.
• Arrange the filled pieces on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and bake 25 minutes.