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Vareniki are a kind of stuffed dumpling
associated with Ukrainian cuisine. Some variants are also found
in Belarusian, Russian, Lithuanian and Polish cooking. Vareniki
are believed to originate from Chinese and Siberian influences,
although sometimes they are said to be of Turkish origin.
Vareniki are similar to Polish pierogi, Russian pelmeni, and
Italian ravioli.
Dough
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Flour
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2-3
cups
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Egg
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1
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Salt
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1/2
tsp
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Water
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150
ml
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Stuffing
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Cottage cheese |
500
g |
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Egg |
1 |
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Salt |
1/4
tsp |
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Sugar |
3
tbsp |
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First
make the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes: |
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In a bowl, combine the
cottage cheese with the egg,
sugar and salt.
The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape in a spoon: |
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Roll out the dough
quite thin on a floured board. Cut rounds with a large
biscuit cutter or with the rim of a glass. Place a spoonful
of the cottage cheese filling on the dough, fold it over to form a half circle
or triangle, and press the edges together with your fingers. The
edges should be free of filling. Be sure that the
edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
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Place the vareniki on a floured board or a kitchen towel (don't
crowd them), and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent drying:
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Bring a large pan of lightly
salted water to a boil and add a few drops of vegetable oil to the
water. Drop a few vareniki at a time into
the rapidly boiling water. Do
not attempt to cook too many at a time.
Stir very gently with a wooden spoon to separate the vareniki and to
prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Continue boiling for 3 or 4 minutes. If
cooked from frozen, vareniki are boiled for 5 minutes.
Vareniki are ready when they are well puffed.
Remove them to a colander and drain thoroughly. |
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Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with
melted butter, and toss very gently to coat them evenly with butter.
Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
The traditional accompaniment is sour cream or
honey. |
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Vareniki can also be made to the same recipe but without any
sugar. This type of savoury vareniki is served topped with
bread crumbs, sour cream and/or
crumbled bacon.
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