Rasstegai

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 300 mlwarm milk
• 8 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tbspsugar
• 2eggs
• 60 gbutter, melted

Fish filling

• 500 gsalmon or sturgeon fillet, diced
• 200 gcooked rice
• 1onion, finely chopped and softened in butter
• 2hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 tbspchopped dill
• 50 gbutter
• salt and white pepper

Meat filling

• 500 gminced beef
• 2onions
• 2hard-boiled eggs
• beef broth

To glaze

• 1egg, beaten

To finish

• melted butter
• hot fish or meat broth, to pour in

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then work in the warm milk, eggs and melted butter. Knead 10 minutes to a soft smooth dough and prove 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.
2. Use diced fish rather than a paste. The pieces stay distinct and moist, and minced fish goes dry and dense. Mix it raw with the cooked rice, softened onion, chopped egg and dill. It cooks in the pie in the same time the dough bakes, and pre-cooked fish comes out dry.
3. Season it well and keep it cold until you fill. For the meat filling, cook the mince with onion until dry, cool it, and fold through chopped egg. Cook meat fillings completely dry, because a wet filling makes the base soggy. Knock the dough back and divide into 12 pieces of about 80 g. Roll each into an oval about 12 by 8 cm, thicker in the middle.
4. Put a generous spoonful of filling down the centre and a small knob of butter on top of it. The butter inside melts and keeps the filling moist, which matters in a pie with an open top.
5. Leave a gap of about 3 cm open in the middle, with the filling visible. Pinch firmly at both ends so it does not spread open further in the oven. Set them on lined trays and prove a further 30 minutes. Brush the dough with beaten egg, keeping it off the exposed filling.
6. Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden. Watch the exposed filling, and cover the opening loosely with a scrap of foil if it is drying out.
7. Brush the crust with melted butter as they come out, and drop a small piece of butter into each opening. Buttering them hot keeps the crust soft, which is what a rasstegai should be. Serve them hot, alongside a bowl of clear soup. Now the point of the whole design: spoon a little hot broth into the opening of each pie as you eat it.

Technique

• Sturgeon and vyaziga, dried sturgeon spinal marrow, were the classic luxury fillings.
• They are made small, two or three per person alongside soup.
• They reheat reasonably in a low oven.

Substitutions

• Salmon or cod in place of sturgeon.
• Any enriched bread dough.

Variations

• With minced beef and egg.
• With mushrooms and buckwheat, for a Lenten version.
• Kulebyaka, the large sealed layered pie.

History

Served alongside soup in Russian taverns, the open top letting diners spoon fish broth into the filling.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rasstegai?

Rasstegai is a bread & pastry from Russia: open-topped pie of fish or meat, with broth poured into the gap. Served alongside soup in Russian taverns, the open top letting diners spoon fish broth into the filling.

How long does Rasstegai take to make?

Rasstegai takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 pies. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Rasstegai?

Yes, within limits. Salmon or cod in place of sturgeon. Any enriched bread dough.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rasstegai?

Use diced fish rather than a paste. The pieces stay distinct and moist, and minced fish goes dry and dense. Mix it raw with the cooked rice, softened onion, chopped egg and dill. It cooks in the pie in the same time the dough bakes, and pre-cooked fish comes out dry.