Cherry Varenyky.

Cherry Varenyky Recipe - Kris Kirkham Photography
Unless you are from Eastern Europe or Russia, Varenyky probably isn’t one of those things that you’ve heard of… man what have you been missing!
Varenyky is widely thought of as a national dish of Ukraine, and whilst working on Olia Hercules’ Ukrainian book this year, this was one of the many things that I was luck enough to sample.
This recipe is for a boiled sweet version of the dumpling.
Varenyky actually translates as “a boiled thing”.
Special thanks to Olia Hercules for donating the recipe to my blog.
Trust me you want to make this!
Enjoy!

Recipe
If you can’t find fresh or tinned sour cherries, steep some regular cherries in a little bit of pomegranate molasses so they become a little sour.
Makes 40 dumplings
1 large egg, lightly beaten
150ml water
350g plain flour
60 sour cherries
maple syrup and Greek yoghurt to serve with

1. Mix the eggs and water and gradually add in the flour.
Mix it well and knead it on a well-floured surface until the dough stops sticking to your hands.

2. You should end up with firm, elastic dough.
Wrap it in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Flour your work top generously and roll out the dough into a 40 cm circle or until the dough is as thin as a 2 pence coin.
Stamp out 8cm circles with a pastry cutter or a glass.
Do not throw away the off cuts.
They are called varenychkyand can be cooked along with the stuffed pasta.

4. Have a well-floured tray ready.
Then place 2 or 3 cherries into the centre of each square and join the corners creating half-moon dumplings.
Place them onto the floured tray making sure they don’t touch each other.

5. Bring a large sauce pan of lightly salted water to the boil and carefully pop the varenyky in.
Boil them for a couple of minutes or until they float to the top.

6. Have a large bowl with melted butter ready.
Drain the vareniky well and add to the butter.
Swirl them around and serve drizzled with some maple syrup and with some sour cream or creamy Greek yoghurt or sour cream.