Pelmeni (пельмени)

For the filling:

2 Lbs Ground Pork

2 Lbs Ground Beef

2 Onions

2 Tsp Salt

2 Tsp Pepper

Finely-chop the onions in a food processor and then add to a mixing bowl with the pork, beef.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  Refrigerate while you prepare the first batch of dough.

For a single batch of dough:

(Enough for about half the meat filling recipe above.  On 2/28/16, two batches of dough was just barely enough for 5 Lbs of meat.)

1 Egg

2 Cups Milk

~6 Cups Flour

Blend milk and eggs with a mixer, and then slowly add the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer.  It’ll need to be fairly dry, as you’ll have to roll it out into thin layers.  But it shouldn't be so dry that the two layers of dough that will be pressed together later won’t stick together (and seal the meat inside).

Pinch off a ball of dough, about the size of a peach.  Cut the dough into eighths.  Roll a piece out, adding flour as needed to keep everything from sticking.  Put this layer of dough over a pelmeni mold* and in the meantime, prepare a second peach-sized ball of dough in the same way.



* An all-metal mold is best, as it doesn't break easily.  Here's one I found on Amazon, but they're not cheap here in America.  But if you find yourself in Eastern Europe sometime soon, I'm sure you can find one for much cheaper.

Pinch off small pieces of the meat mixture, about the size of a grape.  Roll each into a small ball, and press into the mold, flattening each as needed so the meat is roughly level with the dough.  Most of the meat should be sunken into the mold.

Once the mold has been filled, place the second layer of dough* over the meat and use a rolling pin to pinch the two layers of dough together.  Once everything has been sealed and cut, flip the mold over and gently knock out the pelmeni onto a floured pan.  Check each to make sure they’re sealed, and then place the pan in a freezer while preparing your next batch.

* Updated on 2/28/16 We've found that wetting one side of dough (after being rolled-out) with water...enough so it's slimy...allows the top layer of dough to stick to the bottom much more effectively.  So much so that when you roll-out the pelmini on the mold, they tend to seal themselves much better.

Freeze the pelmeni, and use what you need for meals throughout the week, month, or year.  Boil in enough water to cover the pelmeni, and serve with broth (the water they were just boiled in) along with sour cream and salt & pepper. You can also boil them and drain the water. Russians basically eat these as a soup, but you’re welcome to strain them and eat them like tortellini.

Farmer's Cheese

Farmer’s Cheese

This simple, yet tasty cheese is easy and quick to make, and is a key ingredient in many Russian dishes.

1 Gallon Milk

1 Tsp Salt

½ Cup White Vinegar

In a soup pot, heat the gallon of milk and salt to 180-190^oF.  If you’re busy, heat slowly with periodic stirring so as to not scorch the milk.  But if you’re in a hurry, I’ve found that it’s possible to heat the milk on a high flame as long as you stir constantly.  Once the milk’s been brought up to temperature, turn off the heat and add the vinegar.

Stir for two minutes, then let stand for about 15 minutes.  The white curds will separate from the yellowish whey.  

Drain the curds and whey through cheesecloth. 

Squeeze out as much whey as possible (thick gloves suitable for cooking, such as those made from silicone or neoprene, make the squeezing much easier).  In lieu of a good squeezing, you could tie-off and hang the cheese ball for a half hour to drain.

Allow the cheese to sit in a plate to cool for at least an hour, and then remove the cheesecloth before moving to the refrigerator.  The cheese should be broken up into chunks, and should appear as dryer cottage or ricotta cheese.

You might consider retaining some of the whey and mix back into the cooled curds to make simple, homemade cottage cheese.