I’m off to my cousin’s house for Christmas Eve dinner and I am making Pirozhki to take along for an appetizer. These are Russian pies made with bread dough. As a shortcut, I use ready to cook biscuits from the refrigerator aisle (in the US) and break them apart to make the smaller pies. This year I am making beef and mushroom pirozhki and I decided to try them with green onion and a little garlic instead of the yellow onion. I’m always experimenting…
Have a Happy Holiday!
Basic dough
1 package active dry yeast (1 Tbsp.)
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
8 Tbsps. butter, cut into bits
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yokes
4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
1 whole egg, beaten
Yield: 4 dozen
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Heat the milk to lukewarm and add the butter to it. Stir the milk and butter mixture into the yeast. Add the salt, sugar, egg and egg yolks, mixing well. Gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it lightly until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning dough to grease the top, and cover with a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 48 balls of equal size. On a floured board roll each ball out to a circle 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
Place a heaping Tbsp. of filling on each circle, then press the edges of the dough together firmly to seal. Gently shape the pies into elongated ovals.
Place the pies seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until they are just doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Brush each pie with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
FILLINGS
Beef
2 large onions, minced
2 Tbsps. butter
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 tsps. salt
pepper to taste
Sauté the onions in the butter until transparent. Stir in the beef and cook until done. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Cool.
Cabbage
4 Tbsps. butter
2 large onions, minced
1 lb. cabbage, finely shredded
1 tsp. dill
2 tsps. salt
pepper to taste
Sauté the onions in the butter. Add the cabbage and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the cabbage is tender but not browned. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cool.
Mushrooms
2 Tbsps. butter
2 medium onions, minced
1.5 lbs mushrooms, chopped (wild or tame)
6 Tbsps. minced fresh parsley
2 tsps. fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onions in the butter until soft but not brown. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing well.
Cool and Enjoy!