Meat Filled Pelmeni Vareniki Or Pierogi Recipes

Steps:

• Combine egg, vegetable oil, and salt in a measuring cup; add enough water to fill to 1 cup. Pour into a bowl, add 3 cups flour, and knead into a smooth, elastic dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.
• Dust a baking sheet lightly with 1 tablespoon flour.
• Combine ground beef, onion, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix filling thoroughly by hand or using a fork.
• Roll out a portion of the dough very thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or a wine glass. Keep the rest of the dough covered with a towel to avoid drying out. Place 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of filling on one side of the dough circle. Fold dough over and seal the edges using fingers, forming a crescent. Join the ends and pinch them together. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Freeze pelmeni for 30 minutes to prevent them from sticking together.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a simmer and drop small batches of frozen pelmeni into simmering water. Cook and stir until the meat is cooked and pelmeni float to the top, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer to serving plates using a slotted spoon.

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the egg yolks and, with the machine running, 1/4 cup water; after that, add water about 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms; transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a couple of minutes.
• Cut the dough into 2 pieces, form into balls, dust with flour, and cover with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or an upside-down bowl. Let rest for 20 to 60 minutes. (At this point you can wrap the dough tightly in plastic and freeze for up to a couple of weeks; defrost at room temperature before proceeding.) Meanwhile, make your filling from one of the following recipes.
• Knead one of the balls for a minute on a lightly floured surface. Roll each ball into a thin sheet, about 1/16 inch thick, and cut into 2- to 3-inch squares or use a cookie cutter or glass to form 2- to 3-inch circles. You can lightly flour the dumplings, stack, and refrigerate (up to a day) or freeze them (up to 2 weeks), or form them immediately.

Steps:

• Combine the cottage cheese with the salt, sugar, egg, and 1/2 cup sour cream in a bowl; taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Lay a wrapper on a work surface, then place 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of it; brush the edges of the wrapper with egg white, then pinch tightly to close. If you have cut circles, form half-moons; if you have cut squares, form triangles. Press the seam tightly to seal; it's best if no air is trapped between the filling and wrapper. Set on a lightly floured plate or wax paper. (At this point you may cover tightly and refrigerate for up to a day or freeze for a couple of weeks.)
• To boil the dumplings, melt the butter, set a large pot of water to boil, and preheat the oven to 200°F. Salt the water and boil the dumplings a few at a time until they rise to the surface. A minute or two later, taste a bit of the dough to see whether it is tender. As they finish, remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon and put them in an ovenproof bowl; drizzle them with some of the butter and put the bowl in the oven.When the dumplings are done, make sure they are coated evenly with butter and serve hot with sour cream.
• Panfried Dumplings
• Put about 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. When the butter melts, add as many dumplings as will fit without crowding and brown them quickly, turning once or twice. Keep warm on a plate in the oven, cooking the remaining dumplings and adding butter to the skillet as needed. Serve hot, with sour cream.