Day 185: Ukraine and Verenyky

добрий вечір (dobryy vechir), Raffies!

Today we are going to Ukraine and we are back to rolling out dumplings! We are making a very famous starter: Varenyky.

Unfortunately for us, this starter is more than enough for a whole meal. Guess we still need some training to have a chance in against the Ukrainians ;)
These dumplings can be found in all of Western Europe. You might have heard of them by the name of Pierogi. Every country has different fillings and calls them by their local names, but the principle behind it is the same. A dough with a filling, boiled in hot salty water.

For our recipe today, we are going for one of the traditional Ukrainian fillings: potatoes and mushrooms! Also common is potatoes and sauerkraut or potatoes and cream cheese.

The recipe is simple, just the rolling out takes some time:

For the dough

3 c flour
220 g sour cream
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg

For the filling

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut in big chunks
250 g mushrooms, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp sunflower oil

In a bowl, mix the flour, sour cream and butter. Scramble the egg in a separate bowl and mix with 3/4 c of water and mix again. Add the egg to the flour. Add the egg to the mixture. With the help of a mixer, mix and fold the dough well. Keep on mixing until you can for a ball. If it is still sticky, just add a bit more flour. Now cover the bowl with the ball of dough inside it with a cloth.

Proceed with the filling while your dough is resting.

Boil the potatoes in hot water until soft. Mash the potatoes and set them aside to cool down.
In a skillet, heat the oil and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Add the mushrooms and keep on cooking, until soft. Mix the mushroom mixture with the potatoes. Adjust with salt.

Now it is time to make the dumplings!
Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and add a few drops of oil to the water. Now start by rolling out the dough. Take a 2 cm diametre ball from the dough and roll it out to a flat disc. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the disc and fold into half.  Continue until you'll have used up all the dough and all the filling.
Boil a few dumplings at the time. When they rise to the surface (it will take about 2-4 minutes), scoop them out and place them in a colander to drain.

Now you can serve them with sour cream or fry them in butter and onions. Enjoy!

Although I had already eaten Varenyky before, I had never tried the version with potatoes and mushrooms. The were great! Home made dumplings are just much better than the ones you buy :)

Love,

Raffi