Vareniki Recipe

 

Vareniki are Ukrainian perogies recipe aka pierogies. Dumplings filled with cottage cheese, boiled in salted water are budget friendly tasty lunch or dinner everybody loves!

What are vareniki?

Vareniki are classic Ukrainian dumplings similar to Polish pierogi, stuffed with cottage chese in this recipe! They are so popular that there is a varenyky shaped statue built in the city of Cherkasy. It is a town in central Ukraine, close to Dnieper River, 156 kilometers far from Kiev.

 

Once you make unleavened dough on large wooden cutting board

and roll it on flat surface to be 1 to 1.5 millimeters thick, you may fill homemade vareniki recipe with any savoury or sweet filling. Just have in mind that you need thick dough for fruit fillings, especially if you choose apples, plums, or raspberries to stuff them.

Quite often, Ukrainian women stuff vareniki with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, fresh cabbage, sauerkraut, or fish.

However, after I boiled our homemade dumplings in salted water, I warmed some butter in large no stick cast iron frying pan and fried them just to get golden brown crust and served them immediately.

Pan fried, stuffed with farmers cheese vareniki are our favorite since we can adjust them to have main dish or dessert.

 

Since this batch is of rather neutral taste, you may sprinkle them, once served, with salt or sugar. I always prefer to add some sour cream, sugar, and powdered cinnamon.

For salty version, I suggest you top vareniki with fried onions with pancetta. This is an amazing combination that really makes you full. Four vareniki are enough to serve to an adult.

Can you freeze freshly made vareniki from scratch?

Absolutely!

To freeze them, place vareniki on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer, freeze overnight; transfer the frozen vareniki into a large ziploc bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

If you want to simply pack them into Ziploc bag immediately, make sure to sprinkle your dumplings with flour to prevent sticking together. It’s just the same as you would do with any other pasta you wish to keep for busy week days.

How do you cook frozen vareniki?

Bring water to boil with a pinch of salt in a large pot. Large pot is necessary to use since vareniki need a lot of space. It is highly recommended since your batch is ready for serving once they rise to float on the surface. That is how you know they are done. For frozen dumplings, you need five minutes to boil over medium heat.

 

To find the most popular Ukrainian food go here .

For Ukrainian Christmas recipes recipes go here .

Get more on apple vareniki, history of Ukrainian Cuisine and much more go to Ukrainian Recipes .