Piroshkypiroshki Recipes

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.

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.

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.

KALEENKA PIROSHKY

Steps:

• In a skillet, brown the onion in oil, about 7 minutes; remove and set aside.
• Brown the ground beef in the skillet, drain the grease, then add in the cooked onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; set aside.
• (The original recipe had you then chill the mixture to 40 degrees and"pick out solid fat," but that's a step I forgo).
• In a small ceramic or glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 11 minutes.
• In a large bowl or using a large stand mixer, place 4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, egg, the remaining oil, water/yeast mixture, and the milk; mix together (use a dough hook attachment if you have one), adding additional flour as needed to make the dough soft but not sticky.
• Knead, either for about 10 minutes by turning out onto a floured board and doing it by hand or by using a dough hook in a mixer on slow speed for about 6 to 7 minutes.
• Place in a large bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour; punch down.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To fill the piroshky, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of an egg and roll it out to 1/8-inch thick, then place a cube of cube of cheese and 2 tablespoons of meat filling in the center.
• Lift up the edges of the dough and bring it up to the top, pinching together tightly to completely enclose the filling and so that the dough knits together.
• Place the piroshky on a microwave-safe dish or tray, seam-side down, and microwave for 10 seconds; set aside and let rise for 10 minutes.
• Repeat the piroshky construction, microwaving, and rising with remaining ingredients.
• Place risen piroshky (all of them) on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven; alternately, you can deep fry them at 300 degrees F until golden.
• Note: you might also be able to run the dough ingredients through the initial preparation steps in your bread machine, to make it especially easy!

SALMON AND RICE PIROSHKI

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry and chill it.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine in a mixing bowl the salmon, chopped egg, rice, dill, nutmeg, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Blend. There should be about four cups.
• 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 circle of dough over to enclose the filling. Press the edges of dough with the fingers or the tines of a fork to seal. Brush the tops with the egg mixture to seal.
• Arrange the filled pieces on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and bake 25 minutes.

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.