Cabbage Pirozhki Recipes

TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup milk in a cup or small bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour the remaining milk into a large bowl.
• Add the melted butter, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour to the large bowl with the milk. Stir in the yeast mixture. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and doesn't stick to your hands. Cover the bowl loosely and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour. Dough should almost triple in size.
• While you wait for the dough to rise, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage has wilted. Mix in the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender. Set this aside for the filling.
• Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a long snake about 2 inches wide. Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten the balls by hand until they are 4 to 5 inches across. Place a spoonful of the cabbage filling in the center and fold in half to enclose. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line one or two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Place the pirozhki onto the baking sheet, leaving room between them for them to grow.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

CABBAGE PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Mix up the pastry dough and while it is rising, make the filling.
• Heat butter over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and salt to taste and cook, stirring often, until cabbage is tender but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in dill, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and pepper. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. If using ricotta you can either stir it into the cabbage or place a teaspoon on each round of dough before topping with the cabbage mixture.
• When the dough is ready, pinch off 24 equal pieces, approximately 20 grams each, and roll each one into a small ball by cupping your hand over it and gently rolling it against your work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. One by one, roll each ball of dough to a thin round, about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. If you are using ricotta and have not mixed it into the cabbage, place a teaspoon on each round and top with a tablespoon (heaped) of the cabbage. Otherwise just top each round with a heaped tablespoon of the cabbage mixture. Fold over the round and pinch the edges of the dough together, then tuck in the ends and gently shape each pirozhok into an oval (rather than a half-moon). Place on the parchment-covered baking sheet, seam side down. You should get 12 on each sheet. After you have finished shaping the first 12, cover lightly with plastic and place in a warm place to rise for 40 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and continue shaping the pirozhki. Cover the second batch with plastic and let rise for 40 to 45 minutes.
• Brush pirozhki with egg wash. Bake 1 tray at a time in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until light brown and shiny. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Make the dough:
• In a food processor blend together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the butter until the mixture resembles meal. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sour cream, add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture, and blend the mixture until it just forms a dough, adding the water if the dough seems dry. Divide the dough into fourths, form each fourth into a flattened round, and chill the dough, each round wrapped well in wax paper, for 1 hour or overnight.
• Make the filling:
• Peel the potatoes, cut them into 3/4-inch pieces, and in a steamer set over boiling water steam them, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are very tender. Force the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter. In a heavy saucepan cook the onion and the caraway seeds in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is golden, add the cabbage, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 5 minutes. Cook the mixture, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more and stir it into the potato mixture with the sour cream, the water if the mixture is too thick, the dill, and salt and pepper to taste. The filling may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 piece of the dough 1/8 inch thick, keeping the remaining pieces wrapped and chilled, and with a 3-inch cutter cut out rounds. Brush each round with some of the egg wash, put 2 level teaspoons of the filling on one half of each round, and fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon, pressing the edges together firmly to seal them and crimping them with a fork. Gather the scraps of dough, reroll them, and make more pirozhki with the remaining filling and dough and some of the remaining egg wash in the same manner. The pirozhki may be made up to this point 5 days in advance and kept frozen in plastic freeze bags. The pirozhki need not be thawed before baking.
• Arrange the pirozhki on lightly greased baking sheets and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Bake the pirozhki in preheated 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden, and serve them warm or at room temperature.

CABBAGE, FETA AND DILL PIROSHKI

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon), combine the milk and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand 5 minutes until foamy. With the mixer on low speed, add 3 cups/385 grams of the flour, the egg, the butter and the salt, and mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium, and mix until the dough comes together in a smooth ball. The dough will be soft but should not stick to your fingers. If it does, add more flour by tablespoons. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• While the dough rises, make the filling: In a large (12-inch) high-sided skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, cabbage and a few generous pinches of salt, stir to coat with butter and cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is soft and tender but not browned, and all the liquid has cooked off, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, then stir in the feta, dill, and more salt and pepper to taste.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently punch down the dough, transfer to a work surface and divide into 15 pieces, each about 1 1/2 ounces/45 grams. Roll the pieces into balls, then cover them loosely with a clean dish towel. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a 4-inch/10-centimeter circle using a rolling pin. (If your dough is particularly sticky, you can dust your work surface with a bit of flour, but adding too much flour makes rolling the dough difficult, so be cautious.) Add 2 to 3 tablespoons filling to the center of each dough round. Pull the dough up and around the filling, pinching the dough firmly to enclose the filling. Place seam-side down, 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. (The piroshki can be made up to this point and frozen for up to 1 month. Freeze on the baking sheet, then transfer to a resealable freezer storage bag. Bake as directed below, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the total baking time.)
• Place the racks in the top and bottom third of the oven, and heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a sheet of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray, cover each pan of piroshki and let stand at room temperature until puffy, 30 minutes. Brush the tops of each with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt, if using, or kosher salt. Bake until browned, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans and switching oven racks halfway through baking. Transfer the piroshki from the sheet pan to a wire rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.