Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 1egg
- 250 mlwarm water
- 2 tbspoil
- 1 tspsalt
Cheese filling
- 400 gdry curd cheese
- 1egg
- 2 tbspsugar, or 1 tsp salt and chopped dill
Cherry filling
- 500 gsour cherries, stoned
- 100 gsugar
- 2 tbspsemolina
To serve
- sour cream
- sugar
- melted butter
Directions
- Mix the flour, egg, water, oil and salt and knead for 10 minutes into a smooth elastic dough, then rest it covered for 30 minutes.
- For the cherry filling, toss the stoned cherries with the sugar and semolina and leave them for 15 minutes.
- The semolina takes up the juice the cherries release, and it is what stops the dumplings splitting open in the water. Without it the filling turns to syrup and finds the seam.
- For the cheese filling, mash the curd cheese with the egg and either the sugar or the salt and dill.
- Roll the dough out very thin, to about 2 mm, and cut rounds of 8 cm with a glass.
- Put a spoonful of filling slightly off centre, fold into a half-moon, and press the edges together firmly before crimping them.
- Press every trace of air out as you seal. Trapped air expands in the boiling water and pops the seam open.
- Drop them into a wide pan of boiling salted water in batches, stirring once so they do not stick to the base.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes from the moment they float to the surface.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon and toss them in melted butter straight away, or they weld themselves to one another.
- Serve the savoury ones with sour cream and dill, and the sweet ones with sour cream and sugar or a spoonful of cherry syrup.
Technique
- A wide pan and small batches. Crowded dumplings stick together and tear when you separate them.
- They are close relatives of Ukrainian varenyky and Polish pierogi, and the fillings travel across all three.
- They freeze raw on a tray extremely well and go straight from the freezer into boiling water.
Substitutions
- Ricotta drained hard overnight in place of curd cheese.
- Frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained thoroughly, with an extra spoonful of semolina.
Variations
- With mashed potato and fried onion.
- With sautéed mushrooms.
- Boiled and then fried in butter until browned, which is what happens to leftovers.
History
Boiled dumplings filled with cheese, potato or sour cherries and served with sour cream, related to Ukrainian varenyky.
Frequently asked questions
What is Colțunași?
Colțunași is a main from Moldova: boiled dumplings filled with cheese, potato or cherries. Boiled dumplings filled with cheese, potato or sour cherries and served with sour cream, related to Ukrainian varenyky.
How long does Colțunași take to make?
Colțunași takes 50 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 40 dumplings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Colțunași?
Yes, within limits. Ricotta drained hard overnight in place of curd cheese. Frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained thoroughly, with an extra spoonful of semolina.
What is the most important thing to get right in Colțunași?
Drop them into a wide pan of boiling salted water in batches, stirring once so they do not stick to the base.
