Vareniki (2 Sauces on Dumplings) Tom & Jiffy’s
Vareniki; It May Not Be Pretty…
Click here to skip to Tom and Jiffy’s Vereniki Recipe.He told me he was eating his favorite meal called Vareniki. It is basically the special occasion meal of his childhood. He promised me it does not taste how it looks. I promised, given the opportunity, I would try this food (despite how unappealing it may look in the picture). Sure enough, pillows of egg pasta slathered in 2 sauces do not look delicious.
Now, we have to have Vareniki at least three times a year. I make a double batch of the dough and freeze 2/3 of it for later. This makes plenty for the three people in our home.
Traditionally, it is made with rhubarb sauce, but plums can be substituted since they can be more easily attained year-round (regardless of location).
Like any good comfort food, a feast of Vareniki will leave a person in a food coma. No need to worry because if you give it time and maybe a nap–recovery is inevitable. Another filling and delicious meal is my delicious Cottage Pie. Check it out to check another meal off of your list this week!
To learn more about these traditional Russian dumplings, check out this article All You Need to Know About Pelmeni, Vareniki, and Pierogi.
Tom and Jiffy’s Vareniki Recipe
Tom and Jiffy’s Vareniki (Homemade Dumplings with 2 Sauces)
Ingredients
Sweet Sauce
- 5-9 peeled plumbs OR stalks of Rhubarb cut up into chunks
- Agave Nectar OR Sugar to taste
- Water to barely cover the ingredients
Dumpling Dough (Basic Egg Pasta Dough)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup cold water
- 5 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
Dumpling Filling
- 24 Oz of Cottage Cheese, strained and squeezed with cheesecloth to remove the whey (liquid)
- 5 Egg yolks
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Pork Gravy
- 3-4 pork chops or loins (enough to fill the bottom of a large metal pan)
- 32 oz of sour cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Get the Sweet Sauce cooking first thing over medium-low heat as this will take the longest to thicken/cook
- Mix all ingredients with a mixer and knead dough adding additional flour as needed. I suggest using a dough hook till it is a ball you can handle and knead.
- Roll out dough until about 1/8 of an inch thick. A pasta roller is highly recommended, and can also help with kneading by folding the dough, adding a dusting of flour, and putting back through the pasta roller. Do this until it is no longer sticky, holey, and inconsistent.
- Form the Dumplings any size with the filling. Use water along any edges you need to join and fold and pinch to make it secure, so it will not open while in boiling water. A water sprayer set on mist can be great to speed this up--just be careful not to get it too wet!
- Heat the metal pan over medium to high heat on the stovetop until hot, and then fill the bottom with the pork. Leave the pan uncovered. Do not turn until they are thoroughly seared as the goal is to get a lot of dark goodness on the bottom of the pan. Once the meat moves easily and is seared then flip the meat and repeat on the other side. Grab the sour cream and get it ready to use. After both sides of the pork are done, remove the meat and keep the heat on. Immediately put the sour cream in the same pan and stir to deglaze the bottom of the pan. This will allow the sour cream to take the flavor from the cooked pork. Allow to thicken and season to taste.
Notes
The whole process takes a long time, so I recommend making extra dough if you know you like it, so you can save yourself some of the efforts next time you want egg noodle dough. You can make the dough the day before, freeze the extra dough, and then the next day you only have to form the dumplings, cook them and the sauces, and you are done!
Author: Jennifer Friesen
Hi, I'm Jiffy! I love to learn and share new things. I hope jiffytalking.com will become a friendly hub for people to share their interests and knowledge.