Uszka (Mushroom Dumplings)

From the blog For Love of the Table

1/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked overnight a cup of water

2 to 3 T. butter

1 small yellow onion (4 to 5 oz.), peeled and finely minced

6 oz. fresh mushrooms (crimini, white button, etc.), finely chopped in the

food processor

1/4 c. fresh white bread crumbs

2 T. minced flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh pasta dough or purchased Wonton wrappers

Transfer porcini to a small pot, then strain soaking liquid through a coffee filter (or damp paper towel) into the same pot. Simmer over medium-low heat, adding water as necessary, until porcini are tender, about 2 hours. Remove porcini from the pot, finely mince, and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid into the Borsch.

Melt 2 T. butter in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender and golden, about 10 to 15 minutes...add the remaining tablespoon of butter if the pan seems dry. Add the fresh mushrooms and minced porcini and continue to cook until the liquid given up by the mushrooms has evaporated and the mixture begins to sizzle—about 10 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. (The filling may be made a day or two ahead. Cover and chill.)

If using fresh pasta, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface or using your pasta machine (as described in the recipe below) until very thin (it should be thin enough to see shapes/patterns through it). Cut into 50 or so 1 3/4- to 2-inch squares, and cover with plastic wrap to prevent the squares from drying out. (If using wonton wrappers, trim so they are 2-inch squares.)

Place a scant teaspoon of filling in the center of each square, lightly dampen the edges with water, then fold bottom corner to top corner, pressing gently from the top down the sides to remove any air pockets. At this point they should look like triangles. Fold the right and left corners over each other, and pinch them between your thumb and forefinger so they hold together. Set the uszka on a semolina dusted sheet pan, making sure they aren't touching, as you form them.

The uszka may be cooked right away, or they may be stored for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. To store, allow them to dry slightly, uncovered, at room temperature, for about an hour. Then, cover them loosely with a linen or paper towel and wrap the sheet pan tightly in with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator.

Cook uszka in batches in a large pot of gently boiling salted water over high heat, until the pasta is al dente...about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon, transferring them directly to serving bowls or placing them on a lightly oiled baking sheet where they may be kept, lightly covered with plastic wrap, until ready to serve. Chill if not serving within an hour of cooking.

Note: Although not ideal, the uszka may also be frozen for up to a week. Place the sheets with the uskza in the freezer and when they are frozen hard, transfer to ziplock freezer bags and seal. When ready to cook, spread them on a semolina dusted sheet and let them thaw, uncovered. This will only take about 20 minutes. Cook as for fresh.

Fresh Pasta:

1 1/2 c. (165 to 175 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

2 large eggs (100 to 110 grams)

Semolina flour

Mound the flour on a counter top and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and break them up with a fork. Gradually begin incorporating flour from the walls of the well into the eggs. When the walls start to collapse, begin using a bench scraper to cut the flour and liquid ingredients together. At first the dough will seem an unmanageable, shaggy mass. Begin to work the dough until you have a cohesive mass that you can knead without it sticking to your fingers. This initial formation of the dough will take about three minutes. If at the end of this time there is unincorporated flour remaining, sift it to remove any bits of dough. Set this sifted flour aside to be used for the remainder of the kneading process and wash your hands to remove any caked on bits.

Continue to knead the dough (adding flour if the dough is sticky) for 10 minutes until the dough is satiny, smooth and elastic—with no trace of stickiness. Wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Alternatively, place the eggs and flour in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Begin to mix on the lowest speed. When the dough begins to come together, increase the speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes.

To roll out the dough using a pasta machine, work with half of the dough at a time. Flatten the dough into a thick disk and flour lightly. Starting with the widest setting, pass the dough through the rollers six to eight times or until the dough firms up, folding it in thirds each time and turning the dough so an open end feeds into the roller. Continue to lightly flour the dough as you work. Set the rollers at the next, narrower setting and pass the dough through two or three times or until the dough is almost the width of the roller, folding in half each time and passing through the rollers folded edge first. Set the rollers for the next, narrower setting and pass the dough through, but do not fold it. Run the dough through at each successively narrower setting, until the desired thickness is achieved.

(Pasta recipe adapted from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper)

Note: This recipe makes almost twice as much dough as you need to make 50 uszka...I would have written the recipe for half quantities, but this leaves no wiggle room for differences in how people roll out dough. I would prefer not to cut it so close.

http://www.forloveofthetable.com/2016/02/clear-polish-borsch-with-mushroom.html

As published on forloveofthetable.com