Vushka (Little Ear Dumplings)
Vushka are tiny Ukrainian ear-shaped dumplings filled with mushrooms, boiled until they float, and served in hot borscht. A traditional holiday staple.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minVushka means “little ears” in Ukrainian, and that’s exactly what these dumplings look like.
Small squares of egg-yolk dough get filled with a spoonful of mushroom stuffing, folded into triangles, then pinched around your thumb so the corners meet and the dumpling curls into a shape that resembles a tiny cat ear.
They’re boiled in batches until they float, then served swimming in a bowl of hot borscht.
Making them is a labor of love, the kind of kitchen project that brings the whole family around the table during the holidays.
The good news is they freeze beautifully, so you can make a big batch ahead and reheat them straight from the freezer.
Kitchen Tips
- Keep the edges of each square clean and dry when filling. Any mushroom mixture on the seams will prevent them from sealing, and they’ll burst open in the boiling water.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the pot after dropping the dumplings in. A metal spoon cools the water faster and can affect the cooking.
- Cook them in small batches of 10 to 12 so the water stays at a rapid boil. Overcrowding drops the temperature and makes them gummy.
- Roll the dough evenly to ⅛ inch. Too thick and they’ll be doughy; too thin and they’ll tear when you shape them.
- These freeze on a flour-dusted sheet pan, then transfer to bags. Reheat directly from frozen in boiling water, but don’t overcook.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the flour and salt, blending well.
Add the milk, egg yolk, and oil, again blending well.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Knead for about minutes and form into a ball.
(This may be done in a processor.)
Cover and set aside for 15 minutes or so.
On a floured surface, roll out a third of the dough, into a rectangle 1/8th inch thick.
Turn the dough and roll from the center, so that all the dough in the rectangle is even in thickness.
Run a hand under the dough to loosen it.
Dust with flour and flip over and dust with flour.
With a sharp knife, cut into 1½-inch squares.
Place a teaspoon of mushroom filling (see the next recipe in this series) in each square, being careful not to smear the edges.
Fold on the diagonal to make a triangle.
Pinch together the two bottom corners, wrapping it around your thumb with the point up (to resemble small ears on a cat), making sure that the edges have bonded or the stuffing will boil out.
Place on cookie sheets covered with dish towels lightly dusted with flour.
Repeat with the other pieces of dough, saving the scraps for last as the dough gets a little tougher when worked.
Drop 10 or 12 vushka into 6 to 8 cups of rapidly boiling water and stir once with a wooden spoon, (The wooden spoon is very important as a metal one will lower the temperature of the water.) Do NOT cover. When they float to the top, cook 1 minut, then remove with a slotted spoon to a strainer.
Cool on a lightly oiled plate without crowding.
Repeat until all are cooked.
Cover and set aside.
These may be frozen and then reheated in boiling water.
(DO NOT overcook when reheating.)
TO SERVE: Place 4 or 5 vushka in soup plates and pour hot borsch over them.
Comments
