Vushka (or ushka) are mushroom-filled dumplings that look like ravioli or tortellini. They are served in a bowl of borshch, especially on holidays like Christmas Eve (Sviat Vechir) or Epiphany (Schedryi Vechir). They are a great favorite among many kids, as well as adults!
The 11/4/13 blog entry shows how to make the dough and put the vushka together. In this blog, we'll focus on the filling.
This is my own recipe - you can tweak as needed, depending on what you have available, and how much you want to spend (it can get pricey, especially with the dried mushrooms!) It is "pisne" (vegan) for Sviat Vechir, so it uses olive oil, but you can use butter if you prefer.
1/2 oz dried mushrooms
2 x 4-6-oz containers fresh mushrooms
1 exotic mushroom blend container
3-4 oz chopped onions
1 packet McCormick Mushroom Sauce mix
salt and pepper
olive oil for sauteeing
This makes enough for about 75 good-sized vushka, or about 100 smaller vushka.
For printable recipe, click here.
The 11/4/13 blog entry shows how to make the dough and put the vushka together. In this blog, we'll focus on the filling.
This is my own recipe - you can tweak as needed, depending on what you have available, and how much you want to spend (it can get pricey, especially with the dried mushrooms!) It is "pisne" (vegan) for Sviat Vechir, so it uses olive oil, but you can use butter if you prefer.
1/2 oz dried mushrooms
2 x 4-6-oz containers fresh mushrooms
1 exotic mushroom blend container
3-4 oz chopped onions
1 packet McCormick Mushroom Sauce mix
salt and pepper
olive oil for sauteeing
This makes enough for about 75 good-sized vushka, or about 100 smaller vushka.
For printable recipe, click here.
Let's start with the dried mushrooms, since you will need to leave time to reconstitute them. You can skip the dried mushrooms altogether, but they add a deeper, richer flavor, as well as a wonderful fragrance, to your filling. I like to choose more European mushroom types, as the Asian dried mushrooms can have a touch of bitterness (although they can be much less expensive!).
Here, I'm going to use half Chanterelles and half Morels; I'll save the rest for next time. I like to use a mixture of mushroom types, to make the flavor more complex.
Here, I'm going to use half Chanterelles and half Morels; I'll save the rest for next time. I like to use a mixture of mushroom types, to make the flavor more complex.
Usually, you would use boiling water to reconstitute dried mushrooms - pour it over them and let them soak for a while.
But this brand of dried mushrooms has instructions to use lukewarm water, so I am following those directions. In the picture on the left, above, you see the mushrooms as they started out, in their dried form. Over the course of half an hour, soaking in the lukewarm water, the mushrooms are increasing in size as they reconstitute. The fragrance is wonderful - I wish I could add a scratch-and-sniff feature!
But this brand of dried mushrooms has instructions to use lukewarm water, so I am following those directions. In the picture on the left, above, you see the mushrooms as they started out, in their dried form. Over the course of half an hour, soaking in the lukewarm water, the mushrooms are increasing in size as they reconstitute. The fragrance is wonderful - I wish I could add a scratch-and-sniff feature!
In the picture above right, you might be able to see that the soaking water has turned dark. It has absorbed a lot of mushroom flavor and fragrance too, so I like to save it and freeze it for my holiday borshch.
At left, I have a small strainer on top of a soup container. I line the strainer with cheesecloth, because dried mushrooms can have some grit and dirt that I don't want to hang onto.
At left, I have a small strainer on top of a soup container. I line the strainer with cheesecloth, because dried mushrooms can have some grit and dirt that I don't want to hang onto.
Pour the mushrooms and the soaking water into the cheesecloth-lined strainer.
Then pour some fresh water over the mushrooms to rinse, and let the rinse water go into the soup container too - you don't want to let any of that wonderful dried mushroom flavor go to waste!
Then pour some fresh water over the mushrooms to rinse, and let the rinse water go into the soup container too - you don't want to let any of that wonderful dried mushroom flavor go to waste!
And there are the reconstituted mushrooms - aren't they beautiful?
Mmm... I love that smell!
At right is the dark, mushroom-flavored soaking and rinsing liquid which I am saving for borshch. It freezes very well - just be sure to label it so that you don't forget what it is.
Mmm... I love that smell!
At right is the dark, mushroom-flavored soaking and rinsing liquid which I am saving for borshch. It freezes very well - just be sure to label it so that you don't forget what it is.
Now the rest of the ingredients: I'm using button mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms this time, as well as a 'gourmet blend'. You can use just a single kind of mushroom if you like; I like to use a mix for complexity of flavor
You also need chopped onions. Like many people, I am not fond of chopping onions, so I just buy a container of pre-chopped onion at the grocery store, in the produce section - it's a great step-saver. You can also buy frozen chopped onion - I've never tried that. About 3 to 4 oz. is good, but you can use more or less as you like. You could also use onion powder instead.
You also need chopped onions. Like many people, I am not fond of chopping onions, so I just buy a container of pre-chopped onion at the grocery store, in the produce section - it's a great step-saver. You can also buy frozen chopped onion - I've never tried that. About 3 to 4 oz. is good, but you can use more or less as you like. You could also use onion powder instead.
Because some of my family members are not overly fond of onions, and don't like visible chunks of onion in their food, I am running the chopped onions through the food processor to make the pieces smaller (this is still much easier than starting from a whole onion, in my opinion).
Use a large frying or saute pan. Heat up about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil (you can use butter if you're not concerned about strictly "pisne" filling). Saute until the onion is starting to get translucent.
Use a large frying or saute pan. Heat up about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil (you can use butter if you're not concerned about strictly "pisne" filling). Saute until the onion is starting to get translucent.
Chop up the mushrooms in the food processor, in batches (the button mushrooms are being processed in the photo above; I find it easiest to just do one mushroom type at a time, container by container).
I like to leave some larger bits, so you can see them in the filling as you're eating the vushka.
Add the chopped mushrooms to the onions in the saute pan, in batches, letting each batch brown a bit and decrease in volume before you add the next batch (this will let you actually fit all those mushrooms into one pan!)
Some people saute the mushrooms first, and then run them through the food processor. I prefer to chop then saute, as I think the fresh mushrooms can be chopped more easily when they're firm.
I like to leave some larger bits, so you can see them in the filling as you're eating the vushka.
Add the chopped mushrooms to the onions in the saute pan, in batches, letting each batch brown a bit and decrease in volume before you add the next batch (this will let you actually fit all those mushrooms into one pan!)
Some people saute the mushrooms first, and then run them through the food processor. I prefer to chop then saute, as I think the fresh mushrooms can be chopped more easily when they're firm.
In the pictures above, I'm chopping up the exotic mushroom blend, and adding it to the mixture in the pan. Keep doing that until all of your fresh mushrooms are chopped and cooking.
For seasoning, I like to use a packet of McCormick's Mushroom Gravy mix. Of course you can use your own seasoning - whatever herbs and spices you like. You could also chop a couple of gloves of garlic and add them in; much as I like garlic, though, I don't like my vushka to be garlicky.
I like to add the mushroom gravy mix right after I put in the button mushrooms, as they have the weakest mushroom flavor. But you can add seasonings at any point in the cooking process. Taste and adjust as you go along too - I usually add more salt and pepper.
I like to add the mushroom gravy mix right after I put in the button mushrooms, as they have the weakest mushroom flavor. But you can add seasonings at any point in the cooking process. Taste and adjust as you go along too - I usually add more salt and pepper.
I wait until the end to add the reconstituted dried mushrooms. Chop them up in the food processor just like the fresh mushrooms, add them to the pan, and keep cooking.
Your finished filling shouldn't be liquidy, and the mushroom mixture should be a medium brown, and well-sauteed. And fragrant! It'll get your tummy rumbling.
Let it cool in the pan.
Your finished filling shouldn't be liquidy, and the mushroom mixture should be a medium brown, and well-sauteed. And fragrant! It'll get your tummy rumbling.
Let it cool in the pan.
Once cool, you can transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl, and immediately start filling your dough.
You can also refrigerate it, until you're ready to start making vushka.
Or bring it to a varenyk- and vushka-making party!
Taste for seasoning again and adjust as needed before you start making your vushka.
You can also refrigerate it, until you're ready to start making vushka.
Or bring it to a varenyk- and vushka-making party!
Taste for seasoning again and adjust as needed before you start making your vushka.
The dough recipe is in the previous blog here - it's the same as the dough for varenyky, but you cut it in squares instead of circles.
About 1 1/2 inches square is good, but you can go smaller or bigger if you like.
About 1 1/2 inches square is good, but you can go smaller or bigger if you like.
Put a spoonful of filling in the center of your dough square, fold diagonally in half to make a triangle, and pinch the edges shut as you would with varenyky, to seal the filling inside.
Then pinch two of the corners together - you want the corners by the folded side of the triangle, not the "top" corner. Now your vushko will look like a ravioli or tortellini.
To make a "shchastia" (good luck), take one finished vushko and one whose corners have not yet been pinched. Push one corner of the second vushko through the loop of the first (finished) one - you may need to elongate the dough at that corner slightly to make this easier. Then pinch the two corners of the second vushko closed, so that the two vushka are intertwined. The person who finds this "shchastia" in their bowl of borshch on Sviat Vechir will have good fortune in the coming year!
Cook the finished vushka in boiling water until they float. You can serve them right away with borshch. Or cool them, oil or spray them so they don't stick, put them into freezer bags, and freeze until holiday time. Then thaw in boiling water as you would varenyky, and serve in borshch.
Smachnoho!
Then pinch two of the corners together - you want the corners by the folded side of the triangle, not the "top" corner. Now your vushko will look like a ravioli or tortellini.
To make a "shchastia" (good luck), take one finished vushko and one whose corners have not yet been pinched. Push one corner of the second vushko through the loop of the first (finished) one - you may need to elongate the dough at that corner slightly to make this easier. Then pinch the two corners of the second vushko closed, so that the two vushka are intertwined. The person who finds this "shchastia" in their bowl of borshch on Sviat Vechir will have good fortune in the coming year!
Cook the finished vushka in boiling water until they float. You can serve them right away with borshch. Or cool them, oil or spray them so they don't stick, put them into freezer bags, and freeze until holiday time. Then thaw in boiling water as you would varenyky, and serve in borshch.
Smachnoho!