Agnes’ Pierogi and Uszka
Dough
300g (11oz) strong white flour
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp oil
1 level tsp salt
Water
Meat filling:
500g meat (chicken, lamb, pork)
2 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Mushroom and cabbage stuffing:
1 jar sour cabbage (sour kraut)
50g (2oz) dried mushroom (you can use Chinese mushrooms), chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
First make the dough: Sieve flour into a bowl, add salt. Boil the water. Let it cool down a little. Mix egg yolk into the flour. Add oil into the hot water and pour into the flour. Mix until it comes together as a dough. Cover and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling.
Meat filling: Cook meat until tender. Chop onion and garlic finely. Cook it in olive oil until just coloured (don't cover). Whizz the meat in a food processor, add the onion, season well with salt and freshly ground pepper, mix well.
Mushroom and cabbage filling: Soak mushrooms in cold water for a few hours. Chop the cabbage finely. Rinse and cook until almost tender. Cook the mushroom until tender. Chop the onion and sweat in olive oil until golden. Drain the mushroom and chop finely. Mix mushroom, cabbage and onion together, season with salt and pepper. To make the pierogi: Roll dough to a thickness of 5mm, stamp out circles with a glass/scone cutter (6 cm). Use smaller cutter for uszka. Put a little stuffing in middle of circle and seal edges to make crescents. To cook pierogi: Bring a saucepan of water to boil, cook pierogi or uszka till tender. Melt butter on pan and fry pierogi until golden on both sides. Serve uszka in the Barszcz. No need to fry.
