Bryndzové pirohy

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 1egg
• about 180 ml warm water
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonoil

Filling

• 400 gbryndza, sheep’s milk cheese
• 300 gfloury potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1small onion, finely chopped
• black pepper
• a handful of chives, chopped

To finish

• 200 gsmoked bacon, diced
• 100 gbutter
• 200 mlsoured cream
• extra chives, chopped

To cook

• a large pot of salted water

Directions

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well and add the egg and the oil. Add the warm water a little at a time. Bring it together into a soft dough.
2. Knead it on a floured surface for eight minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten and lets it roll thin. Boil the peeled potatoes until completely soft. Drain them and let them steam dry properly.
3. Mash them thoroughly with no lumps at all. Let them cool to about room temperature. Crumble the bryndza into the cooled potato. Add the finely chopped onion and the chives. Season it with plenty of black pepper. Taste it before adding any salt at all. Bryndza is salty enough on its own usually. Divide the rested dough into two pieces. Roll each one out on a floured surface.
4. Take it down to about two millimetres thick. Thin dough gives a better dumpling than thick. Cut out rounds with a glass or a cutter. Aim for rounds about eight centimetres across. Keep the cut rounds under a cloth as you work.
5. Put a spoonful of filling on each round. Do not overfill them or they burst when boiling. Brush the border with a little water. Fold the round over into a half moon. Press the edges together firmly all round. Press out every bit of trapped air as you seal. Crimp the sealed edge with a fork or your fingers. Set each one on a floured tray. Boiling them is quick and needs attention.
6. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Lift one out and test the dough at the seam. The dough should be cooked and no longer floury. Lift them out and drain them well. Preparing the bacon is done while they boil. Fry the diced smoked bacon in a dry pan.
7. Let it render slowly over a medium heat. Give it about eight minutes until crisp. Add the butter to the pan at the end. Let it melt into the bacon fat. Serving them is done immediately while hot.
8. Pile the drained pirohy into warm bowls. Pour the bacon and its hot fat over them. Spoon soured cream over the top of that. Scatter chopped chives over everything. It is a rich dish and portions should be modest. Boil them from frozen with a few extra minutes.

Technique

• Bryndza is a soft sheep’s milk cheese from the Slovak highlands and holds protected status within the European Union.
• The same cheese is used in bryndzove halusky, the better known Slovak national dish.

Substitutions

• Feta mashed with a little cream is the closest widely available substitute for bryndza.
• Smoked bacon or pancetta both work for the topping.

Variations

• Some households add fried onion to the topping alongside the bacon.
• A version filled with plain potato and cheese is made for children.
• Sweet pirohy filled with plum or curd are also made in Slovakia.

History

Dumplings filled with sheep’s bryndza and topped with fried bacon and its fat, a highland dish from the sheep-farming north.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bryndzové pirohy?

Bryndzové pirohy is a main from Slovakia: half-moon dumplings filled with bryndza, bacon butter. Dumplings filled with sheep’s bryndza and topped with fried bacon and its fat, a highland dish from the sheep-farming north.

How long does Bryndzové pirohy take to make?

Bryndzové pirohy takes 1 hour of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bryndzové pirohy?

Yes, within limits. Feta mashed with a little cream is the closest widely available substitute for bryndza. Smoked bacon or pancetta both work for the topping.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bryndzové pirohy?

Put a spoonful of filling on each round. Do not overfill them or they burst when boiling. Brush the border with a little water. Fold the round over into a half moon. Press the edges together firmly all round. Press out every bit of trapped air as you seal. Crimp the sealed edge with a fork or your fingers. Set each one on a floured tray. Boiling them is quick and needs attention.