Zuza Zak recipe: Crispy-baked pierogi stuffed with pork and pine nuts

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Crispy pierogi are not a common dumpling, but they are a great alternative to uszka with the clear red borscht and also work well with zurek. You should eat these on the side of soups, so that they retain their crunchy consistency. Baked pierogi require a slightly different dough, similar to that of the famous Russian kulebiak, which is just one massive, ornately decorated dumpling.

Ingredients

• To make the dough
• 350g plain flour
• 150g salted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 100ml ice-cold water
• To make the filling
• 1 egg and some extra beaten egg yolk, to glaze
• 200g minced pork
• 50g pine nuts, toasted
• salt and white pepper, to taste

Serves: 4   Difficulty: Medium   Time to cook: 60 mins

Method

Crispy-baked pierogi stuffed with pork and pine nuts

 

1 To make the dough, tip the flour into a bowl and add the butter and oil. Work into the flour using your hands for a few minutes, then add the ice-cold water, a little at a time. Start kneading until it comes together into a smooth ball. Knead for a further 3-4 minutes then place in a plastic food bag in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray.

3 To make the filling, combine the pork mince, pine nuts, one egg and seasoning together in a bowl, using your hands.

4 Roll out your dough as thinly as possible on a floured surface. Cut circle shapes out of the dough with a small cutter, then put a teaspoon of the pork and pine nut mixture on top, close each circle to form a half-moon shape then press the edges down with the cutter to seal the pierogi and make a frilly edge.

5 Place the pierogi on the baking tray and brush with a beaten egg yolk to glaze. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

 

• Polska: New Polish Cooking by Zuza Zak (Quadrille, £25)