Hello friends,

Here's a recipe for Varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) filled with potatoes, commonly known as "Varenyky z Kartoplyu" or potato-filled dumplings:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of boiled water
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sour cream, butter (optional, for serving)*

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, egg, water, and salt. Mix until a dough forms. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it becomes smooth. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

1. While the dough is resting, boil peeled and diced potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash them adding some butter with a potato masher or fork until smooth.

2. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mashed potatoes to the skillet and mix well with the onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let the filling cool slightly.

3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Using a round cutter or a glass, cut out circles from the dough.

I bought this dumpling maker recently and wanted to try it out. So this was just perfect timing. It was advertised as no rolling needed. But the press doesn’t work as it it supposed to be, so I had to do more work rolling each piece of dough. Later I realized, I should have rolled one big piece of dough and just cut out circles with a cup. Oh well, lesson learnt.

1. Place a spoonful of the potato filling in the center of each dough circle. Fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape, and pinch the edges firmly to seal.

Ok the dumpling cutter in this new tool worked surprisingly well, I really like how beautifully dumplings came out, all same size and nice patterned edges.

Here are my dumplings ready to be cooked!

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling water, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the dumplings float to the surface and are cooked through.

2. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked dumplings from the water and transfer them to a serving plate. Serve hot with sour cream on the side, if desired.

I was really hungry, so I just added butter to my varenyky, didn’t bother with herbs either. It was delicious just like in my childhood.

Enjoy your homemade Varenyky z Kartoplyu!

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

All the photos in my posts are taken by me, copyright (c) @artmom.

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