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! 

Crisp & Chewy Thin Crust Pizza

The dough for this pizza rises at room temperature for about 90 minutes. From start to finish, the process takes about 3 hours. You can certainly save time by purchasing dough, but if you have the time and enjoy baking from scratch, this simple meal is very rewarding. 

Top it with anything from traditional red sauce and mozzarella, to what I've done here - a fridge cleanout. This is a great way to make leftovers sing. Below I have the recipes and techniques for the dough, the bechamel (white sauce), and the sauteed mushrooms and onions that topped part of my "kitchen sink" pizza. You can find the recipe for the lox here. 

Because this technique uses a baking sheet rather than a pizza stone, it's important to prepare the dough and bake it in stages as described. The toppings are up to you! 

The Dough

2t yeast

1t sugar

3/4C warm water

1T olive oil (plus extra for the dough rise and baking the pizza)

2.5C bread or AP flour

1t salt

Heat the water to about 110' (it should feel warm, but not piping hot). Gently stir in the sugar and yeast. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast blooms and looks foamy. 

Add the flour, salt, and yeast mixture to a stand mixer bowl. Using the hook attachment, slowly combine the ingredients, then knead on a higher speed for about 3 minutes til the dough comes together in a smooth ball. 

Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a draft-free place until doubled in bulk (about 90 minutes). 

The Bechamel

2T butter

2T flour

1.5C milk

3-4T fresh goat cheese

S&P

In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk until warm, but not piping hot (don't scald it). Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the flour. Whisk this mixture on med/low heat for about a minute to cook the flour, then slowly whisk in the warm milk. Raise the heat to med/med-hi, and whisk continuously until it begins to boil and thicken. Turn the heat down as low as possible, and stir in the goat cheese. Season with S&P to taste. Turn off heat. Whisk occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. 

Sauteed Onions & Mushrooms

I had some of these leftover from the night before, and just heated them up a bit before adding them to my pizza. If you're making them the same day, make them before starting the bechamel. 

1 white or yellow onion, peeled, halved, & sliced into half rings

8oz crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced

olive oil

butter

S&P

3T dry sherry, red wine, port, or broth 

Heat about 3T olive oil in a large skillet on med-high heat. Saute the onions until translucent, then sprinkle with about 1/2t salt. Reduce the heat to med-low, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring to avoid hot spots. This slow process will result in deliciously caramelized onions. 

When the onions are beginning to brown a bit, add 1T butter and raise the heat to med-high. Stir in the sliced mushrooms, and saute until the mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle with about 1/4t salt and freshly ground pepper. Deglaze the pan with about 3T of dry sherry. Remove from heat and set aside. 

Back to the Dough

After the pizza dough has doubled in bulk, transfer it to a floured work surface, and gently roll in out to a 16"x12" rectangle. Oil a rimmed baking sheet, and transfer the dough to it, gently stretching it out to fit inside the pan. Brush the dough with more olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450'.

Toppings

<1C grated parmigiano reggiano

bechamel

chopped lox or smoked salmon

mushrooms & onions

extra goat cheese, crumbled

chopped basil 

Assemble and Bake the Pizza

After the dough has rested for another 20 minutes, remove the plastic wrap, and dimple the dough all over with your fingers. Sprinkle the grated parm all over, and bake for 7-10 minutes (til the cheese is melted, and the dough becomes lightly golden. 

Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully spread the bechamel over the crust, leaving a small border. Cover part of the pizza with the mushrooms and onions, and part of the pizza with the lox. Sprinkle with the crumbled goat cheese, and bake the pizza for another 10 minutes, or until the bechamel begins to bubble and the outer crust is a deep golden brown. 

I only had a little bit of the mushrooms left over, but next time I'll make a whole pizza's worth. It was the BOMB. 

Transfer the cooked pizza to a cutting board. 

Sprinkle with basil. Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting.