A plethora of pies

Once you’ve mastered the basics of Russian cuisine, such as kremlyovsky salat and okroshka (see Russian Life July and September issues respectively), you can move on to more sophisticated recipes, like pirozhki (pies).

There’s a Russian saying which goes: “Bread is at the head of everything” (Khleb vsemu golovu). It is thus natural that Russian peasants would come upon the idea of filling their bread with things and making pies, or pirozhki. Meat, cabbage, rice, fish or mushrooms are just a few of the possible fillings for pirozhki.

In spite of the continuing Westernization of Russian eating habits, a real feast is still unthinkable in most households without pirozhki (linguists believe that the word’s etymology is rooted in the word pir — feast). And being the basis of a feast, pirozhki can also be considered the gauge of a family’s prosperity.

True, it isn’t that easy to find Russian girls who know how to bake pirozhki themselves (their babushkas take care of that), but in the old days every new bride was expected to bake and treat her guests to them so that they could see how good a housewife she would make. On saints’ days — imeniny — namesakes would send pirozhki to relatives and friends in lieu of invitations to a feisty dinner.

There was another tradition 100 years ago. Namesakes of imeniny would often be congratulated on ‘their day’ in a very original way. The namesake would be sitting surrounded by friends and have a pirozhok broken over their head. The raisin filling of the pie would drip all over the lucky namesake and the friends would make a wish, saying: “May gold and silver fall over your head just like this.”

Needless to say, this is not a tradition which many people today know of, so don’t congratulate your friends in this fashion unless they have a very good sense of humor — your joke will likely fall flat.

There are dozens of types of pirogi (pies) in Russia — big, small, open, closed, rounded, almond-shaped or square. The word pirozhki is the diminutive form. Up until 1917, fillings were almost always savory, but in Soviet times this tradition was dropped, so today at almost any Russian buffet or stolovaya (canteen) you can buy true masterpieces of Russian cuisine — pirozhki with povidlo (apple jam).

Almost every housewife has her own recipe for pirozhki, especially when it comes down to cooking the filling. Yet for a beginner, the best thing is to follow the traditional recipe religiously.

— Yelena Utenkova

Pirozhki

Making the dough.

Dissolve 0.7 oz. yeast, 1.5 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt in 1 1/2 cups of milk or water (90˚ F), add four eggs and four cups of flour and knead the mixture. In a few minutes, add 8 tbsp. vegetable oil and mix in with the dough. The dough should be smooth, without lumps, and not stick to your hands or the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle on a little extra flour, cover with a lid or clean cloth and leave in a warm place (room temperature, or 80˚ F) for 3-3 1/2 hours. The dough should be kneaded down three times, after 1-1 1/2 hours, 2-2 1/2 hours and just before making the pies.

Rolling out the dough. Preheat your oven to 425 ˚ F. Put the dough on a board sprinkled with flour. Separate into walnut-sized pieces and shape into balls. Leave for 5-10 minutes, then roll into round flatcakes, put filling into the middle of each. Then join the ends to make a boat-like shape. Carefully nip the seam. Put the pirozhki in a greased baking tray smooth side up for 20-40 minutes in a warm and preferably damp place. Then smear with egg yolk and bake for 10-15 minutes.

For the fillings:

Meat: mince 2 lb ham, mix with 1-2 fried onions and fry for 3-4 minutes. Then add three finely chopped boiled eggs, salt and pepper to taste and, if the mince is not juicy enough, 1-2 tablespoonfuls of oil or broth.

Cabbage: clean and chop one cabbage (2-3 lb.). Then boil, douse with cold water, drain and mix with 2-3 tbsp. oil, 3-4 finely chopped boiled eggs, salt and a teaspoonful of sugar.

Mushroom: boil 2 lb. mushrooms, chop finely and fry in 1-2 tbsp. oil. Then add 1/2 cup of sour cream, one finely chopped fried onion and salt to taste, cover and stew for 10-15 minutes. Then add finely chopped parsley or dill and cool the mixture.