Cabbage and Egg Filling for Hand Pies

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make a cabbage-and-egg filling for hand pies? Gather all your ingredients. Any cabbage works — young or mature — though mature cabbage takes longer to cook. Young cabbage makes a more tender filling and cooks faster, since it's soft and juicy to begin with. Wash the eggs and hard-boil them.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the cabbage and remove the dirty outer leaves. Cut out the core and the tough leaf bases next to it. Finely shred the prepared cabbage with a knife. There shouldn't be any large, tough pieces in the finished filling (those are the parts of the leaf attached to the core), because they can tear the dough when you shape the pies. The net weight of the shredded cabbage should be 600 grams.

3. Step 3:

   

   Bring 600 ml of water to a boil in a saucepan (the amount of water equals the amount of cabbage), add the cabbage, and bring it back to a boil. Blanch the cabbage over medium heat for about 3–4 minutes if it's young. If it's older cabbage, it may need more time — around 6–7 minutes. Taste it: it should be tender.

4. Step 4:

   

   Drain the blanched cabbage in a colander, let all the water drip out, then squeeze out the excess moisture.

5. Step 5:

   

   Melt the butter and let it cool. The microwave is handy for this.

6. Step 6:

   

   Peel and finely chop the boiled eggs. Don't cut them too coarsely, or the pies will be hard to seal and the big pieces can tear the dough and cause headaches. The more uniform the filling, the better it tastes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wash, dry, and finely chop the dill. Besides dill, you can use other herbs to taste: spinach, parsley, cilantro, or fresh ramps.

8. Step 8:

   

   In a bowl, combine the cabbage, chopped eggs, dill, and melted butter. Season the filling with salt and pepper and mix well. Season to taste — just take a taste to see whether it needs more salt or spice. Some cooks also stir in onion sautéed in oil until golden. Feel free to add it if you like.

9. Step 9:

   

   The cabbage-and-egg filling for hand pies is ready! By the way, it also makes a great side dish or even a light main course on its own. Enjoy!