Potato Vareniki Made with Water

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Get the ingredients ready for the filling. I recommend making the filling first and the dough second, since you first have to boil the potatoes, then make the filling and let it cool a little.

2. Step 2:

   

   Peel the potatoes and boil them in lightly salted water until tender. To cook them faster, cut them into a few pieces. You can let the potatoes overcook a bit — then they'll be easier to mash. When they're done, drain off the water and mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. No lumps should remain in the mash.

3. Step 3:

   

   Peel the onion, cut it into cubes, and fry it in vegetable oil until golden. You can also chop the onion in a blender, but don't cut it coarsely — the vareniki aren't big and the filling should be uniform.

4. Step 4:

   

   Combine the potatoes with the fried onion, adding the oil the onion was fried in — that keeps the filling from being dry. Season to taste with salt and mix. Now let the filling cool a little. Meanwhile, make the dough for the vareniki.

5. Step 5:

   

   Gather all the ingredients for a simple water-based vareniki dough. This quick way of mixing the dough won't take you more than 30 minutes. Use top-grade flour and a medium egg; the water must be hot — even boiling water will do — plus odorless vegetable oil and fine salt.

6. Step 6:

   

   Sift the wheat flour through a sieve into a mixing bowl. It's best to sift the flour twice, so it takes in more air, which makes the dough more tender and soft. Crack a chicken egg into a clean small bowl, add the salt, and pour in the vegetable oil. Gently beat the contents with a fork. Pour the resulting egg mixture into the flour and stir. The vegetable oil is there to make the dough elastic.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour boiling water into the bowl of flour and, so you don't burn your hands, start kneading the dough with a spoon. Once the dough has cooled a little and come together, keep kneading it by hand. When you can form the dough into a ball, move it to a floured work surface and knead it by hand for 8–10 minutes. The dough should turn elastic and soft and not stick to your hands.

8. Step 8:

   

   Put the kneaded dough in a plastic bag and let it rest for 20 minutes. Resting it in the bag makes the dough even softer and more elastic.

9. Step 9:

   

   After 20 minutes, take 1/3 of the dough, put it on a lightly floured work surface, roll it into a sheet, and cut out rounds using a cutter (a glass or a pastry ring). Place the cooled potato filling in the center of each round and form the vareniki, sealing the edges. You can use a chopstick to give the vareniki a pretty crimped edge. Do the same with the rest of the dough and filling.

10. Step 10:

    

    You can boil however many vareniki you need right away. Pour water into a pot, bring it to a boil, salt it, and drop the potato vareniki into the boiling water. After the vareniki float to the surface, cook them for another 3 minutes. Lift the cooked vareniki onto a plate with a slotted spoon and, if you like, sprinkle them with fried onion; serve with sour cream. Freeze the remaining vareniki.