About this Dish
Russian meat dumplings — small, precise parcels of minced pork, beef or lamb in unleavened dough, boiled and served with butter, soured cream and vinegar. Made in enormous batches and frozen — a Siberian invention designed to store through the brutal winter. Making pelmeni is a family activity, with the whole household forming an assembly line.
IngredientsServes 4
🌾Plain flour, 500g plus extra for dusting
🥚Eggs, 2 large
💧Cold water, 150ml
🐷Minced pork, 300g
🐄Minced beef, 200g
🧅Onion, 1 medium, very finely grated
🧄Garlic, 2 cloves, crushed
🧈Butter, 50g, to serve
🥛Soured cream, 200ml, to serve
🍶White wine vinegar, 2 tbsp, to serve
Method
1
Make the dough by mixing the flour, eggs, a good pinch of salt and cold water together until a stiff dough forms. Knead firmly on a floured surface for 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap in cling film and rest for 30 minutes — it must be firm, not soft.2
While the dough rests, combine the minced pork, minced beef, grated onion, garlic, a generous amount of salt and plenty of black pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until everything is well incorporated. The filling should be quite boldly seasoned as the dough is plain.3
Roll the dough out thinly on a floured surface to about 2mm thickness. Stamp out circles using a 7–8cm round cutter or the rim of a small glass, re-rolling the scraps as you go.4
Place a small teaspoon of filling — no more — in the centre of each circle. Fold the dough over into a half-moon and pinch the edges together firmly, then bring the two pointed corners around to meet each other and press them together to form the classic pelmeni shape. Lay finished pelmeni on a floured tray, making sure they don't touch.5
To freeze for later — which is the traditional point — spread the tray of raw pelmeni in the freezer for two hours until solid, then transfer to bags. They will keep for three months and can be cooked straight from frozen.6
To cook, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Drop in the pelmeni in batches and cook for 5–6 minutes from fresh, or 8–9 minutes from frozen, until they float and the dough is tender but not mushy.7
Drain and toss immediately with butter so they glisten and don't stick. Serve in deep bowls with a good dollop of soured cream and a splash of white wine vinegar stirred through — the vinegar is not optional, it is what makes them sing.User Reviews
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