Siberian Pelmeni (Three-Meat Dumplings)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather the ingredients on the list. For Siberian pelmeni, use beef, pork, and chicken — turkey, duck, goose, or lamb work in place of the chicken. The dough is made from flour, salt, and water with a little vegetable oil and an egg. The filling gets onion for flavor.

2. Step 2:

   

   Run all the meat through a meat grinder along with the onion (even if you bought pre-ground meat). Grinding mixes the meat and onion together into a smooth, even filling.

3. Step 3:

   

   Add salt and the dried spices to the meat-and-onion mixture.

4. Step 4:

   

   Knead the filling well by hand.

5. Step 5:

   

   Now make the dough. Put the flour in a bowl, crack in the egg, add salt, and pour in the water.

6. Step 6:

   

   Knead the dough well by hand.

7. Step 7:

   

   Dust the counter generously with flour and roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin.

8. Step 8:

   

   Use a thin-rimmed glass to cut circles from the dough, dipping the rim in flour each time so the dough doesn't stick. Place a teaspoon-sized ball of filling on each circle.

9. Step 9:

   

   Fold each circle in half over the filling and pinch the edges together well to form a half-moon.

10. Step 10:

    

    Then bring the two pointed ends together to form the classic pelmeni shape.

11. Step 11:

    

    Arrange the shaped pelmeni on floured boards so they don't touch.

12. Step 12:

    

    As each board fills up, put it in the freezer.

13. Step 13:

    

    Once the pelmeni are frozen hard as pebbles, tip them into bags and return them to the freezer for storage.

14. Step 14:

    

    Cook however many pelmeni you need right after shaping (or straight from frozen). Drop them into boiling salted water, stir so they don't stick to the bottom, and cook until done, about 8–10 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and divide among plates.

15. Step 15:

    

    Serve the Siberian pelmeni with vegetables or a sauce.