25gpork fattrimmed from pork butt, ground on medium plate
2small yellow onionseach about 100 g or 3.5 ounces, ground or finely chopped
6gkosher saltI like using pink Himalayan salt, it tastes great
1/4tspfreshly ground black pepper
Instructions
To prepare the dough, sift the flour into a bowl. They say that sifting the flour makes for better pelmeni dough. Make a hole in the center of the flour. Pour the salted water and a slightly beaten egg. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be quite stiff. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook will make the job very easy though. As the dough is stiff, watch your mixer very closely. If your mixer isn't powerful enough and struggles, it's better to finish by hand.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes or longer. I like to refrigerate my pelmeni dough for 2-3 hours before using it.
Meanwhile, prepare the meat filling by combining the beef and pork meat, fat, onions, salt and pepper.
Roll the dough out about 2 mm thick, #4 on the Kitchen Aid pasta roller attachment. Cut into 3-3.5" circles.
Fill each circle with 16 g of meat filling (1 heaping Tbsp).
Fold the circle in half and crimp well.
Bring the ends together and crimp.
Set aside. It's best to refrigerate or freeze finished pelmeni before you are ready to boil them.
Alternatively, use a pelmeni mold.
Bring water to rolling boil in a large pot over high heat. Drop pelmeni into boiling water. Wait till it starts to boil again, turn the heat to medium, and cook for 8 minutes or a little longer for softer dough. The total time from dropping into water to removing is about 16 minutes.
Remove from the water, drain and gently toss with a little bit of butter to prevent sticking. Serve immediately with sour cream, chopped fresh dill and a saucer filled with vinegar. Yes, pelmeni are fantastic with sour cream and a little bit of vinegar. I love using malt vinegar for pelmeni.
Notes
You may freeze pelmeni for up to 3 months. When cooking frozen, pelmeni do not need to be defrosted. The cooking process is the same as described in the recipe, you just need to cook them 5-8 minutes longer.