Aleksey Shvets · Odesa, Ukraine
Poppy Seed Varenyky (Sweet Ukrainian Pierogi)
Dumplings and filled pastaUkrainian
You’ll please even the pickiest guests. Variety of pierogi fillings will satisfy each and everyone!
I have a recipe of dumplings with poppy. That sounds quite extravagant, doesn’t it? For those who like sweet Pierogi. As for surprises, to put or not, it’s up to you, but one thing I can predict for sure, it will taste delicious for sure.
Dumplings is a perfect dish for Christmas time. The whole family get together around the festive table and leisurely enjoy a meal while discussing the latest news.
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the flour and salt in the large bowl and make a well in the middle.
- Add the egg, warm water and oil, stir with a fork and then knead for 5–7 minutes, until smooth and soft.
- Wrap the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
- Rinse the poppy seeds well in the fine sieve under running water and drain them thoroughly.
- Grind the poppy seeds in small batches in the spice grinder until they crack and turn into a grey-blue, nutty-smelling paste.
- Put the ground poppy seeds in the saucepan with the sugar and milk.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring all the time, for 15–20 minutes, until the milk has evaporated and the filling is thick enough for a spoon to leave a trail.
- Let the filling cool completely.
- Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each on a floured surface to 1–1.5 mm thick.
- Cut out 7 cm circles and re-roll the trimmings once.
- Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each circle, fold it into a half-moon and pinch the edges firmly, pressing out the air.
- Lay the pierogi on the floured tray without touching. To make them ahead, freeze them on the tray and then bag them.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pierogi in batches of 15–20, stirring gently at first so they do not stick.
- Once they float, cook them for 2–3 minutes more, 5–7 minutes in all.
- Lift them out with the slotted spoon into a warm bowl and pour over the melted butter.
- Serve hot, with sour cream or honey if you like.
- Rinse well the poppy
- Mince 2-3 times through a meat grinder or mash by blender
- Put the poppies into a saucepan, add sugar and pour the milk
- Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly until complete evaporation of milk
- Divide dough into 2-3 equal parts, roll out each piece into a circle of 1-1.5 mm thick
- Cut out circles of dough with a round glass
- Fill each circle with stuffing and close up
- Put ready-made pierogi on a floured surface
- Cook the pierogi in salted boiling water
- Cook until they come to surface, approximately for 5-7 minutes
- Put ready-made pierogi into a bowl and pour with butter oil. Bon appétit!
What we changed for home
- Dough recipe added: 300 g flour, an egg, water, oil and salt, which makes about 500 g The original asks for '500 g dough' without saying how to make it.
- Poppy seeds ground in batches in a spice or coffee grinder Few home cooks have a meat grinder. Ready-ground poppy seed, sold in Polish and Ukrainian shops, saves this step.
- Cooking time given for the filling, and the filling cooled before use The original says only 'until the milk evaporates'. Warm filling softens the dough and makes it tear.
- Cutter size, filling per pierogi and yield given With a 7 cm cutter and a heaped teaspoon of filling you get about 40 pierogi, enough for six.
The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.
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