Recipe time! (Verenika/Verenike):
Here are a couple recipes for verenika:
Verenike
From the recipe collection of Esther Klassen and Gladys Harder
• 4 egg whites
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cream
• 2 Tbs oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 to 4 ½ cups flour
Knead until smooth and elastic. Let rest a few minutes, roll out, let rest a few minutes again. Cut out circles and fill with cottage cheese filling (see below).
Cottage cheese filling
• 24 oz dry curd cottage cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 4 egg yolks
Knead until it will form into balls. Make into walnut-size balls.
With the cottage cheese ball in the center of the circle of dough, fold over in half. Pinch the edge shut firmly so nothing will leak out. Gently pat flat.
In large kettle, bring 4 quarts water to boiling. Carefully place verenike in boiling water. They will sink to the bottom. They are cooked when they come back up. Gently take them out. Drain them and dip them in oil so they won’t stick together. Drain and freeze on cookie sheets if you aren’t using them right away. Thaw before frying. Fry butter until lightly browned. Serve with sour cream gravy.
Sour Cream Gravy
Stir 2 Tbs flour into ½ cup cold ham broth until smooth. Add ½ cup more broth. Bring to a boil and continually stir. Add 1 cup sour cream. Bring to a boil. Add milk until it tastes good.
Verenika
(Mrs. Virgil Bartel)
• 3 eggs, well beatened
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups sifted flour (about)
• 1 pound cottage cheese (dry curd)
• 2 tbs heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
Combine eggs, milk, and 1 tsp salt. Gradually add flour, stirring, until a stiff dough is formed. Knead until smooth and blended. Roll as thin as possible on floured surface. Cut into desired size rectangle or rounds. Combine cottage cheese, cream, egg, salt, and pepper and blend. Place some cottage cheese on each rectangle. Moisten part of square and fold over edges and press edges together. Cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain.
(I skipped the frying part on this one.) (Makes 15 large or 30 small verenika)
Sour Cream gravy
1 cup sour cream
3 tbsp hot bacon fat (or ham stock/bullion/broth)
Chef’s (jaf’s) notes:
• Use dry curd cottage cheese. Regular cottage cheese will be too runny/wet.
• You can use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese
• My family skips the frying part. They also taste really good just boiled. (One of my ancestors did not like it fried, so she skipped that part. She also invented a new sauce to put on top.)
• Put flour and water in a jar and shake to mix to avoid lumps in the gravy.
• Sour cream tastes better in the gravy than milk.
• One of my ancestors invented a new sauce (since she for some reason didn’t like the ham gravy) containing tomatoes, tomato sauce, bacon, onions, and sour cream. I’m not sure the exact recipe/ingredients of that sauce. I prefer the white ham gravy myself. It's not easy to make but it's really good.
• You can make the cheese pockets in advance and put them in the freezer (even before you boil them).
If any one is interested, here are some recipes. Use one or maybe a combination of the two.
I also wrote it for my own reference. :)
love,
jaf
Verenike
From the recipe collection of Esther Klassen and Gladys Harder
• 4 egg whites
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cream
• 2 Tbs oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 to 4 ½ cups flour
Knead until smooth and elastic. Let rest a few minutes, roll out, let rest a few minutes again. Cut out circles and fill with cottage cheese filling (see below).
Cottage cheese filling
• 24 oz dry curd cottage cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 4 egg yolks
Knead until it will form into balls. Make into walnut-size balls.
With the cottage cheese ball in the center of the circle of dough, fold over in half. Pinch the edge shut firmly so nothing will leak out. Gently pat flat.
In large kettle, bring 4 quarts water to boiling. Carefully place verenike in boiling water. They will sink to the bottom. They are cooked when they come back up. Gently take them out. Drain them and dip them in oil so they won’t stick together. Drain and freeze on cookie sheets if you aren’t using them right away. Thaw before frying. Fry butter until lightly browned. Serve with sour cream gravy.
Sour Cream Gravy
Stir 2 Tbs flour into ½ cup cold ham broth until smooth. Add ½ cup more broth. Bring to a boil and continually stir. Add 1 cup sour cream. Bring to a boil. Add milk until it tastes good.
Verenika
(Mrs. Virgil Bartel)
• 3 eggs, well beatened
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups sifted flour (about)
• 1 pound cottage cheese (dry curd)
• 2 tbs heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
Combine eggs, milk, and 1 tsp salt. Gradually add flour, stirring, until a stiff dough is formed. Knead until smooth and blended. Roll as thin as possible on floured surface. Cut into desired size rectangle or rounds. Combine cottage cheese, cream, egg, salt, and pepper and blend. Place some cottage cheese on each rectangle. Moisten part of square and fold over edges and press edges together. Cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain.
(I skipped the frying part on this one.) (Makes 15 large or 30 small verenika)
Sour Cream gravy
1 cup sour cream
3 tbsp hot bacon fat (or ham stock/bullion/broth)
Chef’s (jaf’s) notes:
• Use dry curd cottage cheese. Regular cottage cheese will be too runny/wet.
• You can use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese
• My family skips the frying part. They also taste really good just boiled. (One of my ancestors did not like it fried, so she skipped that part. She also invented a new sauce to put on top.)
• Put flour and water in a jar and shake to mix to avoid lumps in the gravy.
• Sour cream tastes better in the gravy than milk.
• One of my ancestors invented a new sauce (since she for some reason didn’t like the ham gravy) containing tomatoes, tomato sauce, bacon, onions, and sour cream. I’m not sure the exact recipe/ingredients of that sauce. I prefer the white ham gravy myself. It's not easy to make but it's really good.
• You can make the cheese pockets in advance and put them in the freezer (even before you boil them).
If any one is interested, here are some recipes. Use one or maybe a combination of the two.
I also wrote it for my own reference. :)
love,
jaf