Mushroom Piroshki Appetizers

Umami. Flavor that hits on all six cylinders. Mushrooms have it. And until a few years ago, I admit that my misunderstanding of mushrooms led me to dislike and avoid them. Thank goodness I've moved past that, because YUM. 

With a few simple steps, even common brown mushrooms can deliver powerhouse flavor, and in this case, kick the butt of the beef piroshki I made to accompany these mushroom ones for Easter. 

Mushroom 101

• Selecting Fresh Mushrooms: How can you tell? See the photo above? Fresh mushrooms will have a smooth, glossy cap, that (for the most part) will not have come away from the stem. Like all produce, use it ASAP for the best results. 
• Storing - A Cool Dark Place: Store in a paper bag in a low-humidity drawer in the fridge.
• Washing: YES. Wash off the dirt, for they grow in the ground. Just rinse them under some cool water, and gently rub off any dirt. Allow them to dry, then use them as desired. 

Makes about 50 bite-sized piroshki 

The Dough
4oz cream cheese (just half of a regular old brick), at room temp
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4C AP flour
1/2t kosher salt

Cream the butter til smooth. Add the cream cheese, and cream til combined. Stir in the flour and salt to form a ball. Flatten it out into a rectangular slab about 1/2" thick, wrap in parchment or plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour. 

The Filling
3 8oz packages organic brown mushrooms 
1 small, or 1/2 large white or yellow onion
2T olive oil
1T butter
salt & pepper 
sherry (optional)

1 beaten egg to seal the piroshki, and for an eggwash

For this recipe, we'll use the whole mushroom. Trim off the ends of the stems. If you have a food processor, you're very happy right now. Chop the shrooms in batches of 3 on "pulse" til finely diced. Otherwise, grab a sharp knife and go to town. Finely dice the onion. Heat a large skillet on medium-high, heat 2T olive oil, then saute the onion til golden. Remove from the pan. Turn heat to high. 

Dump the chopped mushrooms into a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel (it will turn brown) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can, saving it in a jar for later use (I froze mine to use later in a soup or sauce). Dump the mushrooms into the hot pan, and saute, stirring constantly for even browning. Sprinkle with about 1/2t salt and freshly ground pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes. If you have some sherry, drizzle about 2T over the shrooms to deglaze the pan (about 1 minute). Add the shrooms to the sauteed onions, dot with butter, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to let off steam. Taste the cooled filling. Add more salt & pepper if needed. 

Roll the Dough
Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. This dough isn't very sticky, so you only need a little flour to help roll out your dough to about 1/16." Cut silver dollar-sized discs and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

My dough cutter is 2" in diameter 

Fill and Shape
Take a disc of dough and using your finger, brush some beaten egg around the inside edge. Scoop a full spoon of filling onto the center. Fold the disc in half like a taco. Press the edges together, then crimp the edge to further seal it. 

If making ahead, freeze the piroshki on the sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. 

unbaked frozen piroshki. space them out farther when baking.

Baking
Preheat oven to 400'. Space out piroshki on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush with eggwash, and bake until golden brown. Serve hot. 

my test bake popped open, so I added some eggwash to the seal. either way, they're delicious!

на здоровья! 

Mushroom Potato Onion Pirog (Russian Savory Pie)

Whole Foods charges about $4 a slice for something like this. I made two whole pies (10"x5") for about $10 total. And that was using purchased puff pastry, which is both easy to work with and tasty, but you could make your own dough (a traditional pie dough) if you prefer. 

I like to share these (either whole pies or individual turnovers) with friends on camping trips, picnics, concerts, etc. These are for HSB15. Fall is in the air, and the combination of caramelized onions and mushrooms with potato wrapped in a golden pastry is really satisfying.

What You Need
1 box Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets 
1.5# russet potatoes
1 large onion
8oz crimini mushrooms 
olive oil
S&P
an egg for eggwash 

How to Make it
The puff pastry comes frozen. Thaw the whole box in the fridge overnight. Keep them cold as you prepare the filling. 

Peel, cube and boil the potatoes (with 2t salt) until soft. Drain and roughly mash them. 
Dice the onion, and saute in olive oil until soft.
Slice the mushrooms and add them to the onions. Sprinkle with S&P. Crank up the heat and saute til the onions are golden brown and the mushrooms are tender. You can deglaze the pan with a little dry sherry if you like. It adds a nice flavor and helps collect all the flavors from the pan. 
Combine the onion mixture with the potatoes and let it cool to room temp. You can also make this mixture ahead and chill it overnight. 

Preheat oven to 425' (you will reduce the heat to 400' after you put the pies in). 
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. 
Flour a work surface and unfold one of the pastry sheets. Keep the 2nd one in the fridge. 
Gently roll the square out a bit making it about 2" bigger all around. Spread half the filling evenly in the center of the dough, leaving about 3" on each side, and 1" at the top and bottom. Join the sides over the center of the pie, pinching the dough together to create a tight seal. Seal and crimp the top and bottom as well. Gently lift the pie and place it in the center of a baking sheet. Glaze with egg wash. Place the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge while you repeat the process with the second pie. 

Bake the pies at 400' for about 30-40 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through. The pies should be deeply golden brown. Cool on a rack. Either serve slightly warm, or cool completely and store wrapped at room temp for up to a day. Beyond that, you should keep them in the fridge, though that will make the dough gunky. Just eat them within a day. It won't be a problem. Trust me. 

на здоровье!