Fried cabbage buns (piroshky)

Stuffed with a cabbage filling, these yeast buns are fried until golden here, but are also commonly served steamed.

Fried cabbage buns (piroshky) Credit: Fried cabbage buns (piroshky) photo by Tom Donald

• makes

  25

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 600 g (4 cups) plain flour
• 2 tsp (1 x 7 g sachet) dry yeast
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra, to shallow-fry

Cabbage filling

• 1 small (1.2 kg) cabbage, grated
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, grated

Resting time 2 hours and 30 minutes

Instructions

Place flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, yeast, oil and 400 ml warm water in a bowl and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1½ hours or until dough doubles in size. Punch down dough. Set aside for a further 1 hour or until risen.

Meanwhile, place cabbage, garlic and onion in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium–high heat. Add cabbage mixture and cook for 3 minutes or until wilted. Add carrot and cook for 3 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove pan from heat and gently stir in grated eggs. Season then set aside to cool.

Dust dough with flour and shape into a large 6 cm-thick log. Slice into 25 rounds and roll out each piece into a 10 cm-long oval, about 3 mm thick. Place 3 tablespoons of cabbage mixture in the centre of each oval, fold in sides and pinch edges together to enclose. Flatten slightly to make ovals a uniform shape.

Fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third full with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Working in batches, gently drop ovals into oil and fry, turning halfway, for 6 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve immediately.  

Photography Tom Donald.

As seen in Feast magazine, July 2014, Issue 33.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.