Strawberry Varenyky
Strawberries are treacherous inside dough. They start releasing juice within ten minutes, and that juice softens the seam before the dumplings ever reach the pot. The trick is to take the juice away first — and then serve it back as a sauce.
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 35 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 340 kcal
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
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What to use instead
A spoonful of semolina can replace the starch; it also soaks up juice, though the filling comes out denser.
Makes: about 45 varenyky
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Make the dough
Scald the flour and salt with hot water, work in the oil and knead until smooth, as in our basic dough recipe. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
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Step 2: Cut the berries
Leave small strawberries whole and quarter the large ones. Keep the pieces about the same size, or the big ones will push through the dough.
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Step 3: Sugar them
Toss the berries with the sugar and leave for 20 minutes. This is where they give up most of their juice — on the counter, not inside a dumpling.
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Step 4: Drain the juice
Tip them into a sieve and catch the juice in a cup; keep it. Pat the berries dry with kitchen paper.
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Step 5: Bind what is left
Dust the berries with the starch and fold gently. It thickens whatever juice appears later inside the dumpling, so the filling sets rather than runs.
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Step 6: Seal tightly
Roll the dough to 2 mm and cut 8 cm rounds. Add 3 or 4 pieces of fruit and crimp the edge twice, pressing on a dry, flour-free seam.
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Step 7: Boil briefly
Cook in batches in a large volume of salted boiling water. Give them 3 minutes after they float; longer and the fruit collapses to syrup.
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Step 8: Serve
Lift them out with a slotted spoon, pour over the saved juice and serve with sour cream. Spread them out at once, as hot ones stick together.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Always brush loose flour off the seam. Dry flour stops the dough bonding, and the seam is the first thing to open.
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Swap
A spoonful of semolina can replace the starch; it also soaks up juice, though the filling comes out denser.
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Tip
Use a wide pot and no more than 12 at a time. Crowded dumplings rub against each other and tear.
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Storage
Shape and freeze them raw in a single layer, up to three months. Boiled ones are only good on the day.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 340 kcal | 2,040 kcal |
| Protein | 8 g | 48 g |
| Fat | 6 g | 36 g |
| Carbohydrates | 64 g | 384 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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