Russian Voreniki Vareniki Perogies Ricotta Cheese And Onions Recipes

BASIC RUSSIAN VARENIKI OR PELMENI DOUGH (RUSSIAN PIEROGI)

Steps:

• Whisk together egg and sour cream until well combined.
• Whisk in 1 1/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water.
• Using a spatula, mix in four, 1 cup at a time.
• Place the dough onto a floured surface. Using a food scarper, knead the dough by turning and folding it with the food scraper. Dust the dough with flour as you need it until it is soft and doesn't stick to your hands (you'll need around 1 cup more flour). Knead for 6 to 8 minutes. Don't add too much flour or the dough will become hard to work with.
• Place the dough under a bowl and let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
• Cut the dough into 4 to 6 pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the rest covered with plastic wrap.
• Form your chunk of dough into a log and cut off small pieces, one at a time. Pieces should be a little larger than a gumball. Dust your rolling pin and cutting board with flour and roll out a piece of dough until it is 1/8" thick and 3" diameter.
• Fill these circles with the desired filling (potatoes, cherries, blueberries or meat). Fold the dough over the filling to form a crescent and seal the edges tightly with your fingers. If making pelmeni (meat filling), pinch the two edges together to form a "diaper" shape. Place the finished pierogis on a cutting board dusted with flour until ready to boil.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. As you finish the first batch of pierogies, place them in boiling water. After they float to the top, cook about 2 to 3 minutes more, then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Drizzle the pierogies with melted butter.
• Repeat steps 7 through 9 with the rest of the dough.

PIEROGI WITH FARMERS CHEESE (VARENIKI RECIPE)

Steps:

• Mix sugar, farmers cheese and egg, until it's fully mixed in. Set it aside.
• Whisk eggs together with sour cream, lukewarm water and milk until you get an even texture.
• To the liquid ingredients, add in flour, sugar and salt. Knead the dough by hand or a stand-up mixer until it's no longer sticky.
• Roll out the dough on a well floured surface. Using a cup, stamp out circles. Flour the cup to make it easier to cut circles.
• One by one fill your circles with filling, placing the filling in the center.
• Fold over the edges and tighten them up with your fingers, making sure it's firm enough for your filling not to fall out.
• Bring a pot of water up to boil. Add 10-20 pierogi, cook until they float up to the top. Drain and top with melted unsalted butter. Optionally, serve with sour cream, jam or sugar.Tip: If freezing the pierogi, use a floured cooking sheet or cutting board. Once the pierogi are fully frozen, move them to a ziplock bag.

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.

LENIVIE VARENIKI (UKRAINIAN FARMER CHEESE GNUDI)

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
• In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs using a fork. Add the farmer cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt and stir until smooth. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of the flour and gently fold it into the dough. The final dough should be light but no longer sticky to the touch. Using your hands, continue incorporating another tablespoon or two of the flour into the dough until it is no longer sticky.
• Prepare a lightly floured platter/tray for the vareniki.
• Divide the dough into 3 pieces and place 1 piece onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll the dough into a log about 1″ in diameter. Cut the log into 3/4″ pieces; if your knife is sticking, sprinkle the dough lightly with a bit of flour. Place the cut pieces on the prepared platter and continue with the 2 remaining pieces of dough.
• Pour the melted butter into a large serving bowl; set aside.
• Once the water is boiling, gently drop the vareniki into the pot along the sides of the pot to prevent a splash. Using a slotted spoon, gently stir the water. Cook the vareniki in batches as to not overcrowd the pot. Once the vareniki float to the top, about 1 minute, cook them for an additional 30 seconds and transfer them to the serving bowl with the butter. Gently toss in butter and continue boiling the rest.
• Serve lenivie vareniki hot, with sour cream and extra sugar for sprinkling. (Leftover vareniki can be reheated in a skillet with a bit of butter).

RUSSIAN VORENIKI (VARENIKI, PEROGIES) RICOTTA CHEESE AND ONIONS

Steps:

• DOUGH PREPARATION--------------.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, whipping cream and salt and whisk well to blend.
• Add baking powder and stir in gently.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and egg mixture and mix well to incorporate.
• Add additional flour if necessary so that dough does not stick to the bowl or feel sticky.
• Form dough into a ball and knead about 10 times.
• Divide dough in half, form into balls, wrap each ball in plastic wrap and set aside.
• FILLING--------------.
• Squeeze out as much liquid from Ricotta cheese and discard.
• In a large mixing bowl, add Ricotta cheese and beaten eggs and mix well to blend.
• Add chopped green onions, salt and black pepper and mix to incorporate.
• Break off pieces of dough and form into balls about the size of a golf ball.
• On a floured surface, roll out each ball to a round about 1/16 inch thickness, turning at least once during rolling.
• Place dough into a 5 inch"MINI FORM" and make sure that the dough projects over the edges.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into the centre, lift one edge of the"MINI FORM" and lightly press push the filling down.
• Now fold the"MINI FORM" completely over and squeeze tightly.
• Remove any excess dough by running your finger around the folded edge and set dough aside to be use again.
• Continue to form the Voreniki until all dough and filling are used up.
• If you have any filling left over, cover and refrigerate to be used within 2 days.
• TO COOK--------------.
• Fill a pasta cooker or a large cooking pot 3/4 full with water and bring to a rolling boil.
• Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt to the water.
• While the water is boiling, drop 6 formed Voreniki, stir once carefully with a slotted spoon so that the Voreniki do not stick together.
• Cook for 3 minutes total as they will rise to the surface after cooking for about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
• If desired, sprinkle some melted butter over the Voreniki.
• DO NOT add melted butter if you are going to freeze the Voreniki.
• Serve immediately with additional melted butter, a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped green onions or chives.
• To reheat, you can drop them again into boiling water for about 1 1/2 minutes.
• You can also fry the Voreniki in a small amount of butter, cover and fry on medium-high for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned.
• TO FREEZE--------------.
• Place on a tray or cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze.
• Then package them in zip-loc bags or vacuum seal in bags in desired amounts.
• To reheat frozen Voreniki; let thaw for about 1/2 hour and then fry in a small almount of butter as noted above.