Pick Up The Fork

A Serious Eater's Guide to Buenos Aires and Beyond

Russian Pelmeni Dumplings

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I was first introduced to dumplings at Pel’meni in Madison, Wisconsin. For US$5, you could get a styrofoam container filled with the delicious pillows of meat or potato dumplings, with spice or no spice, sour cream, and a piece of rye bread. Oh, how I craved these dumplings… when the glorious day arrived when I was back in Madison, I hit State Street to stuff my face. I walked up the 7 block street about 3 times, from the Capital to Library Mall, where could it be? I hadn’t been away THAT long… finally, after my 4th pace, I gave up, went home, googled Pel’meni, and it was true. It was closed. Sad, sad, sad day.

Photo found on a random Flickr page The Onion and an order of dumplings at Pel’Meni, doesn’t get much better.

I had an intense craving that I needed to satisfy, and after making dumplings a few months back with a skilled partner, I thought I would embark on my own and give it a try with my own spin. First, I cheated. I bought the wrappers. Second, it was cheap – AR$10 (US$2.50) for about 50 dumplings. Third, it was damn good. Fourth, it was sooo easy, here’s how I did it:
First, I plopped 4 large peeled potatoes (quartered) in a big pot of salted water and brought it to a boil and cooked until they were soft. This took about 20 minutes, so while I was waiting, I melted 2 teaspoons of butter to a pan and sauteed chopped garlic and onion.

Drain and put the potatoes in a bowl, MASH EM!

If I was Paula Deen, I would have added lots of butta.. but last night I showed some restraint and instead just added the garlic onion mix, and happened to have a left over ear of sweet corn so I just added some kernels. If I had access to a wide selection of cheese, I would probably add some sharp cheddar – but the best I could do was a few ounces of port salut (or something like that) soft cheese. Salt, pepper, and voila, almost done!

The dough is simple, water, flour, egg, that’s it. I’m still really lazy and didn’t feel like getting my hands dirty so I bought the dough pre-made in Barrio Chino, 50 for AR$4. I guess they are technically won-ton wrappers, but I wonder if empanada dough would work too…

I took each one, stretched it out a little, and added a spoonful of filling
Constructing things and making them look pretty was never my thing, I’m too sloppy. I started to fold each one and make crescents, half circles, demented pockets etc.
Aren’t they cute?

Then I tossed them into a pot of boiling water and once they floated to the top, I waited for 2 more minutes and transfered to a greased dish to prevent sticking -I used cooking spray, but if I were a real cook I’d use butter.
Almost ready to eat… Last step is in the spice and is what really gives it a kick… sprinkled a little bit of curry powder, white vinegar, sriracha spicy sauce and a massive dollop of non-fat queso crema (like sour cream). If I close my eyes, I can picture myself sitting in Pel’Meni shoveling dumplings into my mouth.

Ingredients
4 large potatoes
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 ear of corn
3 tablespoons of cheese
salt
black pepper
dough (Check out Martha’s recipe if you are feeling crafty)
Spices: Curry powder, sriracha, vinegar, sour cream

Author: ForkYou

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Comments

Comments

  2. I'm reporting back about Martha's recipe. I felt inspired to make the pierogies tonight for dinner, and they turned out great. I followed the directions to the letter, and the dough was smooth and elastic when rolled out. Recommended!

  3. I'm thinking empanada dough wouldn't work for these; you want a noodle dough rather than a bread dough.I like to use empanadas to make miniature pies. Peaches look really good right now – maybe a mini peach pie? Mmmm.

  4. Hi Katie, thanks for reading.. this recipe is really good – I just made more last night! Let me know how Martha's dough turns out, I wonder if you can use empanada dough? I'm trying to find new ways of using it other than making empanadas!

  5. Hi! I recently stumbled upon your blog. It's always nice to make the acquaintance of another foodie. :) I'm an American living in Necochea, a seaside town in the southern part of the province of Buenos Aires.I have been craving pierogies as of late. I think I'm going to try this recipe, but I'll have to make Martha's dough because I can't get wonton wrappers here.I subscribed to your feed in my reader, so I'll be following your culinary adventures. Chau!

Trackbacks

  1. […] You will find very similar products / layouts at both of these supermarkets on the same block in Barrio Chino.  Fresh fish and seafood, grains, wonderful vegetables, imported Mexican goods, soy-based sauces, spice-based sauces and aisles of mystery bottles labeled in Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters. Don’t forget to study the refrigerated sections and take home a package of pre-made dumplings, fried tofu or pre-made dough perfect for my favorite Russian pelmeni dumplings. […]