Barley & Lamb Knysze

• porții: Makes 8-10

Ingrediente

For the filling

120ml (4f oz/½ cup) chicken stock

80g (2¾oz) pearl barley rapeseed (canola) oil, for frying

100g (3½oz) minced (ground) lamb

¼ tsp ground cinnamon salt and white pepper

For the dough

150g (54oz/1 cup plus 2 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) kefir or buttermilk

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vodka

1 tbsp butter, melted

Instrucțiuni

For the filling, heat the chicken stock in a saucepan, add the barley and cook over a low-medium heat, covered. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of rapeseed (canola) oil in a frying pan and fry the minced (ground) lamb, breaking it up with a fork until it's browned, about 15 minutes. Add the cinnamon and

season well with salt and white pepper.

Add the browned lamb, with the cooking juices, to the pan with the barley. Cook together, uncovered, until the barley is tender (about 10 minutes), stirring regularly. Once all the liquid has been absorbed (the mixture should still be quite wet), turn off the heat, cover and allow the filling to cool to room temperature before using.

For the dough, put the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in a bowl and mix together. Add the kefir or buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until all is combined. Add the egg yolk, vodka and melted butter to the bowl and mix well with your hand.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, allowing it to absorb any extra flour it needs (but try not to overdo it as the dumplings will become less fluffy if you use too much).

Roll the dough into a cylinder shape and cut into 12 equal parts. Flatten each part out into a circle, place a spoonful of the filling in the middle and seal into your preferred pieróg shape (see pages 16-19).

While making the knysze, heat a drizzle of rapeseed oil in a large frying pan. Fry the knysze in batches until golden and crisp on all sides, including the top and bottom, then drain on paper towels and serve.

Note

Knysze are part of a Polish culinary history that I fear might be endangered. These days, not many people make a special kind of pierogi for a name day (the day on which you celebrate the saint you were named after; although, these were just as important as birthdays in the past), and certainly not for a funeral - which used to be the raison d'être for knysze. I've sadly been to quite a few Polish funerals and knysze were never served.

There is an area of Poland, however, where knysze have become part of the regional culinary tradition - the Bieszczady mountains in the south-east. They are most often stuffed with a filling used for pierogi ruskie - potato, white cheese, caramelized onion (see page 133), but it is these ones with minced (ground) lamb and barley that are my favourite and I feel deserve to be celebrated.