Varenyky z Hrybamy (вареники з грибами, mushroom dumplings)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide pan for drying the mushroom filling
• •A mixing bowl and clean tea towel for the dough
• •An 8cm glass or dumpling cutter
• •A large pot and slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the mushrooms

   Put the dried porcini in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let them sit until they soften and the water turns tea-dark and smells like wet woods. Lift the mushrooms out with your fingers so the grit stays behind, then chop them fine. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve or cloth and keep it.

   Do not pour from the bottom of the bowl with confidence. Dried mushrooms often carry sand, and sand in a dumpling is a punishment nobody earned.
2. 2

   Make the dough

   Mix the flour and salt in a wide bowl. Stir in the warm water and sunflower oil, then bring it together with your hand until no dry flour hides at the bottom. Knead until the dough turns smooth and elastic, soft as an earlobe and no longer tearing when you stretch a corner. Cover it and let it rest while the filling cools.

   Warm water makes an eggless dough tender and obedient. If it feels stiff after resting, wet your hands and knead once more; the dough usually forgives you.
3. 3

   Cook the onion

   Warm 2 tablespoons of the oil or butter in a wide pan and add the diced onions with a pinch of salt. Let them soften slowly until they go golden at the edges and smell sweet, not sharp. You're not racing to brown them. You are building the sweetness that keeps the mushroom filling from tasting flat.

4. 4

   Dry the filling

   Add the fresh mushrooms to the onion and cook, stirring, until they release their water, sigh loudly in the pan, then quiet down again. Add the chopped soaked mushrooms, garlic, black pepper, and the strained soaking liquid. Keep cooking until the liquid has reduced away and the mixture is dark, glossy, and thick enough to mound on a spoon without weeping.

   This is the step that won't forgive impatience. Wet filling opens dumplings. Dry, concentrated filling gives you varenyky that stay sealed and taste properly of mushrooms.
5. 5

   Cool and season

   Taste the filling while it is warm enough to smell properly. It should be a little saltier than you think, because the dough will calm it down. Stir in half the dill, then spread the filling on a plate to cool completely. Warm filling makes soft dough sweaty, and sweaty dough is comedy until it is dinner.

6. 6

   Roll and cut

   Dust the table lightly with flour and roll the dough thin enough that you can see the shadow of your fingers through it. Cut circles with a glass or cutter, about 8cm wide. Keep the scraps covered while you work so they do not dry into leather.

7. 7

   Fill and seal

   Put a teaspoonful of mushroom filling in the center of each circle. Fold into half-moons, or into triangles if your hands remember that fold, and press the edges firmly so no filling sits in the seam. Lay the varenyky on a floured tray in a single layer, shoulder to shoulder but not touching.

   Do not overfill. Every cook does it once because generosity feels correct. The dumpling will correct you in boiling water.
8. 8

   Boil gently

   Bring a big pot of salted water to a lively boil, then lower it a little so the dumplings roll without being beaten. Slip in the varenyky in batches and stir once so they do not catch. When they float and the dough looks silky rather than chalky, give them a short moment more, then lift them out with a slotted spoon.

9. 9

   Dress and serve

   Warm the remaining oil or butter in a pan with extra fried onion if you like, then toss the cooked varenyky through until they shine. Scatter with the rest of the dill and serve with cold smetana on the side, unless you are keeping the feast fully lean. Eat them while the edges are tender and the mushroom smell is still in the room.

Chef Tips

• •Dried porcini give the deepest flavor, but mixed dried forest mushrooms work well. If you only have fresh mushrooms, cook them harder and longer, then add a spoon of soy sauce or mushroom powder. A bit more modern, but it helps.
• •For a vegan Christmas Eve table, use sunflower oil throughout and skip the smetana. The dough is already eggless, as many lean varenyky doughs are.
• •Freeze uncooked varenyky on a floured tray until firm, then bag them. Boil from frozen without thawing, just give them a little more time once they float.
• •The filling and dough both forgive a lot. The seam does not. Keep the edges clean and press them firmly, and the pot will be kind to you.

Advance Preparation

• •The mushroom filling can be made 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Cold filling is easier to seal.
• •Uncooked varenyky freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. Freeze flat first, then store in a bag so they do not glue themselves together.
• •Cooked varenyky keep for 2 days in the fridge; reheat by frying gently in sunflower oil until the edges take a little color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)