“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
This is a recipe I found in an old family notebook, with the recipe written down by my grandmother. There is a note beside it saying: “Natasha’s recipe”. Pirozhki (Russian: пирожки, plural form of pirozhok, literally a “small pie”), also transliterated as piroshki (singular piroshok) or pyrizhky (Ukrainian: пиріжки), is a generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings. The stress in pirozhki is properly placed on the last syllable. Pirozhok (пирожок, singular) is the diminutive form of the Russian pirog (пирог), which refers to a full-sized pie.
This is a recipe I found in an old family notebook, with the recipe written down by my grandmother. There is a note beside it saying: “Natasha’s recipe”. Pirozhki (Russian: пирожки, plural form of pirozhok, literally a “small pie”), also transliterated as piroshki (singular piroshok) or pyrizhky (Ukrainian: пиріжки), is a generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings. The stress in pirozhki is properly placed on the last syllable. Pirozhok (пирожок, singular) is the diminutive form of the Russian pirog (пирог), which refers to a full-sized pie.
Piroshky
Ingredients – Dough
7 g (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
≈500-600 g plain flour
Vegetable oil to deep fry
Ingredients – filling
Canned cocktail sausages, and/or
Freshly mashed potato with chopped dill, and/or
Chicken liver pate, and/or
Sauteéd mushrooms
Method
Dissolve the yeast, sugar and a pinch of salt in the warm water, stir well and add a handful of flour to make a gruel. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise.
Once risen, add the warm milk, the remaining salt, the butter, the egg and mix well.
Add the flour little by little, to form a soft, slightly sticky dough (you may add more or less flour to achieve this). Knead well. Cover and leave in a warm place to double in bulk.
Once risen, punch down and knead. You may use a little oil on your hands so that the dough doesn’t stick. Take a little dough and make a ball about 4 cm in diameter. Roll in a little flour and set on a tray. Make more of these balls until the dough is used up. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 10-15 minutes.
Once risen take each ball and flatten it out with your hand to make a disc about 7 cm in diameter. Put the filling of your choice in the middle, wrap the dough around it and shape with your hands to make a small cylindrical package.
The fillings can be varied and may be vegetarian or with meat. Traditionally we have made them with tiny cocktail frankfurters but I have also liked them with a mashed potato, herb and cheese filling. Friends of ours also make them with a sweet, berry fruit filling and dust them with icing sugar.
Deep fry the piroshky until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.
Such delicious recipe from your grandmother notebook! A very lovely treat for these days of october (it's pretty cold for this autumn in here). A good Saturday!
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