Ingredients:
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 16 tablespoons (two and a quarter pound sticks) unslated butter, cut into 1/4-inch bits and chilled
- 8 tablespoons of chilled lard, cut into 1/4-inch bits
- 8 to 12 tablespoons of ice water
- Filling: meat
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 3 cups of finely choppped onions
- 11/2 pounds of lean ground beef
- 3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons of finely cut fresh dill leaves
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- Filling: cabbage
- 3 pound head of white cabbage, quartered, cored, then coarsely shredded
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
- 4 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of finely cut fresh dill leaves
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Combine the flour, salt, butter and lard in a deep bowl. With your fingers, rub the flour and fat together until they look like flakes of coarse meal. Pour in 8 tablespoons of ice water all at once and gather the dough into a ball. If it curmbles, add up to 4 tablespoons more of ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the particles adhere. Wrap the ball of dough in wax paper, and chill for about 1 hour. On a lightlly floured surface, shape the pastry into a rough rectangle 1 inch thick and roll it into a strip about 21 inches long and 6 inches wide. Turn the pastry around and again roll it out lengthwise int a 21-by-6-inch strip. Fold into thirds and roll out the packet as before. Repeat this entire process twice more, ending with the folded packet. Wrap it is wax paper and refrigerate for an additional hour.
Meat Filling:
Over high heat, melt the butter in a heavy 10-to 12-inch skillet. Add onions and, stirring occasionally, cook over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown. Stir in the beef and, mashing the meat with a fork to break up any lumps, cook briskly until no traces of pink remain. Grind the meat-and-onion mixture through the finest blade of a meat grinder (or, the mixture finely with a knife). Combine the meat in a large bowl with eggs, dill, salt and pepper, mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning.
Cabbage Filling:
Over high heat, bring 4 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil in a 8- to 10-quart pot and drop in the cabbage. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Then drain the cabbage in a colander and set it aside.
Melt the butter over high heat in a deep skillet or 3- to 4-quart casserole. Add the chopped onions, reduce the heat to moderate, and cook 5 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are soft and lightly colored. Drop in the cabbage and cover the pan. (The pan may be filled to the brim, but the cabbage will shrink as it cooks.) Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender, then uncover the pan, raise the heat to high and boil briskly until almost all of the liquid in the pan has evaporated. Drain the cabbage in a colander and combine it with the chopped eggs, dill and parsley. Stir in the salt, sugar and a few grindings of pepper and taste for seasoning.
Preheat the oven to 400 degree. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. With a 3- to 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Gather the scraps into a ball and roll out again, cutting additional circles. Drop 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each round and flatten the filling slightly. Fold one long side of the dough up over the filling, almost covering it. Fold in the two ends of the dough about 1/2 inch, and lastly, fold over the remaining long side of the dough. Place the pirozhki side by side, with the seam sides down on a buttered baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes , or until golden brown.
