Wild Mushroom Dumplings “Uszka”
Uszka in Polish or vushka in Ukrainian (meaning "little ears") are small dumplings that resemble tiny twisted pierogi. They are typically filled with delightful wild forest mushrooms and/or minced meat, creating a flavorful experience. In Poland, Mushroom Pierogi known as “Uszka” are a staple on Christmas Eve, often enjoyed in Borscht. Combining both dry and fresh mushrooms with a straightforward pierogi dough made from flour, warm water, and egg, they are not only visually pleasing but also simple to prepare.
YIELD: 75 dumplings
Ingredients for the dough:
600 g all purpose flour
1 egg
400 ml warm filtered water
Ingredients for the filling:
150 g dry wild mushrooms
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tsp butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Pour boiled water over dry mushrooms in the pot. Cover and let it sit overnight.
Next day cook mushrooms in the same water for an hour or until soft. Strain the liquid (save it for the beet soup or onion soup etc). Cool off the mushrooms.
Grind the mushrooms in the manual grinder or use the blender until the mushrooms are well chopped but not pureed.
Melt a teaspoon of butter in the frying pan and sauté the chopped onion until golden. Season with salt.
Melt remaining tsp of butter and add chopped wild mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
Set aside to cool.
Prepare dough by combining flour, egg, salt, water added gradually and kneaded on a floured surface until smooth dough is formed. if dough becomes too sticky add more flour.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes wrapped in saran wrap which helps to become elastic and easy to work with.
In small batches, roll out dough to about 3 millimeters thickness.
Cut dough into approximately 4-5 cm wide strips and cut each strip again to form squares. Don’t need to be perfect.
Fill each square with about a ½ teaspoon of mushroom filling. Close each triangle and press edges with a fork to seal or your your own fingers.
If the dough becomes too dry to seal the dumpling simply mist it with water spray.
Once sealed, gently stretch dumpling longways, wrap around one finger and pinch the two pointy ends together to form a beautiful dumpling. Place them on a floured surface. I like to cover them with a tea towel for preventing them from drying out.
At this stage you can freeze “uszka” in small batches by placing them on a cutting board and placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once dumplings have hardened transfer them into small ziploc bags to hold 12 pieces at the time and store them up to 6 months in the freezer.
If you are planning on using them on the same day, fill a large pot with water, add 1 tsp of salt and let water boil.
Boil dumplings in batches of about 20-30, stir gently off the bottom with the wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Turn heat down to low; water should only be slightly simmering (not rolling boil). When all dumplings float to the top, they are done. Remove from pot and place on a large surface to cool (without touching), or serve right away.
Serve them with Borscht, onion soup or with your favorite sauce.
