norvien@byron.u.washington.edu (Christopher Possanza) (03/26/91)
Someone recently requested a recipe for pelmeni ("Siberian Ravioli").
I was in the Soviet Union recently, and this is a recipe I brought back
with me--I haven't tried it yet, but here it is, complete with
description and history:
Pelmeni are among the most popular Russian dishes. They are
served in special Pelmennaya cafes and sold frozen in bright red boxes
in shops, but any housewife worthy of her name considers it a matter of
honour to make them herself.
Pelmeni have spread throughout the whole country from Siberia,
which is why they are are often called Siberian pelmeni. Siberia is
not only an enormous territory, with wonderful towns, rivers and lakes,
but is also the home of many original dishes, which have become part of
Russian cooking. Pelmeni originated in Siberia long ago. To the Komi,
a people living in the area of the Urals, the word 'pelnyan' means 'an
ear made of dough', and pelmeni really are this shape. They are made
from pastry and meat. People in Siberia usually make them in huge
quantities, by the thousand, and then freeze them---the Siberian winter
makes this easy. Any Siberian who sets out on a fishing or hunting
expedition, or just on a long journey, inevitably takes a whole bag of
pelmeni with him. All he has to do when he feels hungry is build a
fire, boil some water and drop some of the pelmeni, frozen hard by the
frost, into it; a few minutes later an appetizing smell will rise over
the taiga, letting him know that lunch is ready.
Making pelmeni begins with the preparation of the pastry. Sift
300-400 grammes of flour into a mound, make a well in the centre and
add a teaspoonful of salt, one or two eggs, half a glass of warm water
and knead the dough. Cover it with a tea towel and leave to stand for
30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the meat filling. Take 200 grammes of beef and
200 grammes of pork and put through the mincer twice, together with
onions. Add first salt and ground black pepper to taste and then some
cold boiled water. The mixture should be not quite so thick as for
rissoles. When the filling is ready, return to the pastry.
Roll it out thinly, cut out circles and put a small ball of
filling onto each. The edges have to be joined and pinched together,
which is not as easy as it sounds. No one cook's pelmeni are the same:
some make large ones, others small ones, some pelmeni are very
intricately, and others more simply joined. Put the pelmeni in the
fridge so that they become firm.
To serve, cook the pelmeni in boiling salted water for about 10
minutes, until they rise to the surface. They are served with sour
cream, melted butter, vinegar, pepper and mustard.
There you have it. Just one small note: I've never made them, but I've
bought them at the Russian bazaar we have here every year, and I've
found that they are wonderful boiled in chicken broth rather than
water.rmoore@NMSU.Edu (04/02/91)
In article <1991Mar25.185134.14393@mthvax.cs.miami.edu> lou@basel.csmil.umich.edu (Lou Rosenfeld) writes: > I'm looking for the recipe of pelmenye, a Siberian meat-filled > ravioli. I've tried it in the Soviet Union, where it generally is > served without a sauce. Pel'meni: Dough: 3 cups flour Mix all (mixer/food processor/whatever) well, 1 tsp salt cover, let rest at room temp for 30 min, 3 egg yolks or use your own favorite noodle dough :) 1/2 cup water Filling: half and half high quality beef and fat pork - 1 lb. in all 1 onion well chopped salt and pepper to taste (a fair amount) 1/4 cup of ice Grind and mix well (food processor), add ice towards the end. Assembly: Roll out dough (by halfs or quarters) as thin as you can - about 1/16 in. , cut 2 to 3 inch circles (use cookie cutter or a large glass), spoon filling on (1 tsp or so each), fold in half and pinch closed. Use dough trimmings with next half/quarter of the dough. This part consumes time. In Russia this is usually a family affair - goes a lot faster. Lay out on a cookie sheet and pop in the freezer until solid. Pel'meni will keep in the freezer for a couple of months. To serve: throw about 10 to 15 pel'meni in salted boiling water, return to boil, in 5-6 min they will float to the top - ready. Served always with pepper (black or red) and butter, either with the water/broth they cooked in with sour cream (my personal preference), or without liquid with sour cream or vinegar. This is a traditional Central Russian / Siberian dish, although regional versions exist made with mushrooms. Also Ukranian var'eniki are similar, though larger and not frozen, made with anything including versions with potatoes, sourkraut and even cherries (these last are magnificent!!!). Sergey Gleizer for now using: rmoore@dante.nmsu.edu