How to Cook Liver and Mushroom Pirozhki

Makes: 32 pirozhki

Ingredients needed to make Liver and Mushroom Pirozhki:

For the dough:

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour plus some more for dusting
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp water
• 7 tbsp sour cream
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, diced
• Pinch of sugar

For the filling:

• ¼ lb chicken livers, washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• ½ lb cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

Cooking instructions for Liver and Mushroom Pirozhki:

• To make the dough, combine the flour, salt, sugar and butter in a pastry blender until they form a mixture with coarse crumbs.
• Pour the sour cream over it and stir well with a fork until the mixture forms a dough.
• Dust some flour on your working counter and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until it becomes soft and somewhat glossy in appearance.
• Roll it out into a 6×4 rectangle and fold it into thirds to resemble a folded letter.
• Roll it out again and repeat the process twice.
• Wrap it up in a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for an hour or until it turns firm.
• Add a large dollop of butter in a pan and melt it over moderate heat.
• Toss in the mushrooms as well as onions to the pan and stir-fry them for about 15 minutes or until the mushrooms dries up and the onions turn lucid.
• Stir in the livers and continue to saute for another couple of minutes, stirring frequently until they brown slightly.
• Allow the filling to cool slightly and transfer it to a food processor.
• Pulse until the mixture clings together and season with a dash of salt plus black pepper to taste.
• Cool it to room temperature, leaving it uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes.
• Fit the oven rack at the centre of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F.
• Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured working counter into a 13’’ round circle of ¾’’ thickness.
• Carve out small circles from it with a cookie cutter and place 1 tsp of the filling at centre of each.
• Fold one end of the circle over the filling and press the open ends together to seal; each pirozhki should look somewhat like a half moon.
• Make the rest of the pirozhki in a similar fashion and arrange them on a baking sheet, some distance apart.
• Stir a tbsp of water into the beaten egg to prepare egg wash and brush it over the surface of every pirozhki.
• Bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.
• Serve and dig in!

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons