PIROSHKI
(Small Russian Meat Pies)
Recipe for Layered Pastry Dough
as used by Nadine V. Nikitin
for her famous piroshki.
1. 3 cubes of margarine (Blue Bonnet)
2. 1 cube (.25 lb.) sweet butter
3. 4 cups of flour
4. 1 cup of ice cold water
TO PREPARE:
Important Note: All utensils used must be cold (taken from
refrigerator) in order that the butter not soften when it is
being mixed with other ingredients.
Sprinkle into a pot 1 cup of flour; to this add margarine, a
small piece at a time, until one cube has been added. With
two criss-crossed knives (scissors fashion) reduce the
margarine to pieces the size of peas; while so doing, add ice
water a little at a time. The final appearance should be
large pieces of margarine - about 1/2 inch pieces. If they
are too small, the flour will not be layered, as desired.
Repeat the above three times until all the flour, butter,
margarine and water have been used-up. Lay out the dough on
a wax-paper covered board and roll out the dough to finger
thickness. (Put wax paper over dough when rolling). Fold the
dough in half and roll-out again and repeat this process 3-4
times. Fold the dough (like a piece of paper) into a more
compact form and place the dough in refrigerator. You may
keep the dough there for 2-3 days or, more correctly, until
the time that you decide to make piroshkis or pirog.
TO MAKE STUFFING FOR PIROSHKI:
Get 2.5 - 3 lbs. lean hamburger, place in pan and cut with
wood spoon until it is separated into small pea-size pieces.
Fry over small flame in pan, mixing all the time, with no
butter, pour off excess fat. Fry until it just turns grey.
After having been cooked, add some Swanson beef bouillon to
moisten the meat so that it is not dry. Add salt, pepper.
Separately, fry finely cut onion and add this to the meat.
Just before making the piroshki, hard boil 3-4 eggs, dice, add
to meat. To use: when meat filling is ready, cut the dough
into 3-4 pieces (for convenience in rolling out) and roll out
to 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Cut rolled-out dough into disks with
the rim of an old fashioned cocktail glass. Place a full
teaspoon of meat and place on the disk, fold disk in half
(fold is at bottom and edge is at top), pinch the edges
together then "pinch & twist" them, giving a
zig-zag
appearance to the edge, to prevent their opening during
subsequent baking. Flatten each piroshok a little.
Place the pieces on a cookie sheet in rows (about 24 pieces,
3 x 8) and put in freezer. When frozen, they can be removed,
put in plastic bag, sealed and put into deep freezer for
extended storage. When needed, defrost and start by
pre-heating the oven to 450 deg.F. Then take each piroshok,
and wipe with the finger its top and where it was pinched with
a well mixed egg (with 1/2 tsp. water added) and place on
sheet. Place in middle of oven and cook for 15 min at 450
deg. Then reduce heat to 40 0 deg. for another 20 minutes.
(If you have over-cooked at the first 450 deg., as evidenced
by the color, cover with a layer of brown paper and reduce
temp. to 400. for final cooking.)
PIROSHKI A LA AUNT SONIA HAEFF
1 Sept 1960
Meat stuffing: Chop two hard boiled eggs. Place 1-2 pounds
of hamburger in frying pan and press with fork while it cooks
to keep it soft, and to separate all the small pieces of meat.
Do not put oil in pan. Cook only until meat turns brown. Mix
in the chopped eggs. Do not overcook. Add salt, pepper,
dill.
Dough: 1/2 pound butter (soft!), 1/2 cup water with 1
tablespoon rum. Mix with butter in bowl- 3 cups flour, add
one egg. Roll out with rolling pin, put on pieces of
stuffing, pinch shut. Place all on pan and refrigerate for at
least 1-hour - this helps make the dough better layered when
placed later in oven. Remove from refrigerator, brush with
butter (Nadia uses a well mixed egg), put in oven pre-heated
to 400-degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350-degrees for
another 15-minutes - until lightly browned.
PIROSHKI WITH MEAT
Dough: Make the dough 12 hours before preparing. 1 lb. wheat
flour, 1 cup warm water, and some dry yeast. Mix flour in
water, set in warm place until the volume has doubled. Add
1/2 lb. flour and warm water so that dough will not be too
thick, and place again in a warm place for 2 hours. Salt to
taste, add eggs, butter and ? (could not find English
equivalent in dictionary) until dough begins not to stick to
dish; set aside and allow it to rise again.
Stuffing: 1 lb. chopped meat, 5 onions, salt, pepper, 3 eggs,
1 spoon butter. Fry meat with onions, add pepper and salt, add
chopped hard-boiled eggs, add butter. Bake in the dough or,
better yet, deep fry.