Varenyky z Vyshniamy

Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 200 ml warm water
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 600 g sour cherries, pitted
• 120 g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp caster sugar for the syrup
• 1 tbsp potato starch or cornflour
• 30 g butter
• 200 ml smetana or sour cream, to serve

Before you cook

• Pit the cherries over a bowl and save every drop of juice that runs out.
• Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
• Flour a tray for laying out the finished dumplings.

Steps

1. Beat the egg with the warm water, salt and oil in a jug.
2. Pour the liquid into the well in the flour and mix it to a rough dough with a fork.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 8 minutes, until it is smooth and springs back when pressed.
4. Cover it with an upturned bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
5. Toss the pitted cherries with the 120 g of sugar and the potato starch, which thickens the juice inside the dumpling.
6. Roll the dough out 2 mm thin and cut 7 cm circles with a glass or a cutter.
7. Put five or six cherries on each circle, keeping the border of the dough clean and dry.
8. Fold each circle into a half moon and pinch the edge firmly along its whole length.
9. Go back along each seam and pinch it a second time, which is what stops them bursting.
10. Lay the finished varenyky on the floured tray without letting them touch each other.
11. Bring a wide pan of lightly salted water to a rolling boil.
12. Drop in ten dumplings at a time and stir once so they do not stick to the base.
13. Boil them for 3 minutes from the moment they float to the surface.
14. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and turn them gently in the butter.
15. Simmer the reserved cherry juice with the 2 tablespoons of sugar for 4 minutes to make a thin syrup.
16. Serve the varenyky hot with cold sour cream and the cherry syrup spooned over.