A sample of the dish Varenyky is a must on any trip to the Ukraine.  These dough pockets come with a range of fillings, including potato, potato and cheddar cheese, potator and mushroom, cottage cheese, blueberries or cherries.  The Varenyky should be familiar to many as many nationalities have variations of the Varenyky as part of their national cuisine, including the Italian ravioli, Polish pierogi, Russian pilmeni, Jewish kreplach or Chinese dumplings. Varenykys are boiiled and are very often served with onions and sour cream.
 
When I first saw the Varenyky being made on our river cruise, I thought they looked a bit bland, but on tasting it, I must admit that they were really tasty.  Below is a recipe for potato and mushroom Varenyky which is quite easy to make.
 
Ingredients:
400g wheatflour
150ml water
  1 egg
 50g sour cream
200g mashed potatoes
 80g mushrooms, chopped into cubes
 60g chopped onions
 20g chopped fresh parsley
 19g butter
salt, pepper, nutmeg
 
Preparation:
Dough
- Mix water, egg, sour cream and seasoning in bowl 
- Add flour and knead to a smooth dough
- Wrap in cling foil and let the dough rest for 30 mins.
 
Filling
- Fry onions and mushroom in butter and add to the mashed potato
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and then add the chopped parsley
 
Assembling the Varenyky
- Roll the dough to 2mm thickness and cut with a round cutter.
- Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle of the circle and fold the dough in half
- With a fork, press on the border to seal.
- Place the Varenykys in a large pot of boiling water.  When the Varenykys float to the surface, scoop them and place onto a plate.
- Gently fry the onions in butter and sprinkle these on the Varenykys. 
- Pour sour cream over the Varenykys and garnish with hers and serve immediately.
 
Bon appetit…. pictures coming soon!
 
Helen

Travel Signposts Blog