Siberian Pelmeni
Small dumplings with thin dough, filled with a mixture of minced meats and onion, plunged into boiling water, then served steaming, topped with smetana and sprinkled with dill, with a knob of melted butter.
Small dumplings with thin dough, filled with a mixture of minced meats and onion, plunged into boiling water, then served steaming, topped with smetana and sprinkled with dill, with a knob of melted butter.
Comrade, listen well: in Siberia we don't make three pelmeni, we make a thousand! The whole family gathers at the big table, hands in flour, and when the cold comes we take them out onto the balcony — the taiga itself serves as our freezer. A handful thrown into boiling water, a spoonful of tangy smetana, a bit of dill, and you're warmed to the bone. Believe me, after a day in the snow, it's more precious than a medal.
- •Wheat flour — enough for a large dough (thin rolled dough)
- •Egg — one or two (binder for dough)
- •Mixed minced beef and pork — a good amount (filling)
- •Onion — finely chopped (filling flavor)
- •Smetana (sour cream) — a bowl (signature tangy sauce)
- •Fresh dill — a bunch (green freshness)
Siberian Pelmeni
Small dumplings with thin dough, filled with a mixture of minced meats and onion, plunged into boiling water, then served steaming, topped with smetana and sprinkled with dill, with a knob of melted butter.
Why this dish? Leonov was born in Listvyanka, deep in Siberian Kemerovo Oblast. Pelmeni are THE dish of Siberia: families would make them by the hundreds in autumn, then let them freeze outside in the cold for the whole winter. A dish of memory and celebration for this son of the taiga.
Comrade, listen well: in Siberia we don't make three pelmeni, we make a thousand! The whole family gathers at the big table, hands in flour, and when the cold comes we take them out onto the balcony — the taiga itself serves as our freezer. A handful thrown into boiling water, a spoonful of tangy smetana, a bit of dill, and you're warmed to the bone. Believe me, after a day in the snow, it's more precious than a medal.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — enough for a large dough (thin rolled dough)
- Egg — one or two (binder for dough)
- Mixed minced beef and pork — a good amount (filling)
- Onion — finely chopped (filling flavor)
- Smetana (sour cream) — a bowl (signature tangy sauce)
- Fresh dill — a bunch (green freshness)
Ingredients
- Flour — 300 g (dough)
- Egg — 1 (binder)
- Warm water — 120 ml (dough)
- Minced beef — 200 g (filling)
- Minced pork — 150 g (filling)
- Onion — 1, finely chopped (filling)
- Smetana or thick crème fraîche — 150 g (sauce)
- Fresh dill — a few sprigs (finishing)
- Butter — 30 g (topping)
Method
- Knead flour, egg, water, and a pinch of salt into a supple dough; let rest 30 min under a cloth.
- Mix minced meats with onion, salt, and pepper.
- Roll out the dough very thinly, cut out discs, place a small amount of filling, fold into a half-moon, then pinch the two ends together to form a little ear.
- Drop pelmeni into a large pot of salted boiling water; they are done when they float and bob for 2-3 minutes.
- Drain, top with melted butter, serve with smetana and chopped dill.
How it was made : In Siberia, making pelmeni was a collective autumn ritual. Whole sacks were prepared and stored frozen outside at -20°C, ready to be cooked all winter — natural preservation long before freezers.
The contemporary twist : For a space-themed twist, serve them in a 'constellation': a few pan-fried pelmeni arranged like stars on a veil of smetana, sprinkled with dill like a comet's trail.
Alexei Leonov · Charactorium