Russian vareniki are like Italian ravioli: little pockets of pastry are filled with cheese.
Serves 6
• dough
• 1½ cups flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 4 Tbs. water
• 1 Tbs. butter, melted
Filling
• 12 oz. hoop or farmer cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 2½ Tbs. sugar
• 2 Tbs. butter, melted
• additional melted butter
1. To make the dough, mix the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Beat together the egg and the water, put it in the center of the flour, and stir the flour into it gradually; the dough will be a hard, sticky mass. Add a little more water if necessary to incorporate all the flour, then add the melted butter and knead the dough in the bowl until it is fairly smooth. Turn it out onto a lightly floured board and continue kneading for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is perfectly smooth and starting to feel elastic.
2. Prepare the filling by putting the hoop cheese (or farmer cheese) through a sieve, beating together the sour cream, egg, salt, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter, and mixing everything together thoroughly. Adjust seasoning.
3. Roll the dough out as thinly as possible on a lightly floured board and cut out 2-inch circles. Place a small spoonful of filling in the center of each circle, brush the edge of the dough with a little water, and fold the dough over the filling, pressing the moistened edges together firmly to seal it in a half-moon shape.
4. To cook the vareniki, drop them into 2 or 3 quarts of boiling, salted water and boil them for 12 to 15 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and serve them with melted butter
