Let's try to cook real Crimean pasties, the recipe of which is spread far beyond the borders of the fabulous peninsula. Of course, every self-respecting Crimean woman carefully preserves her own way of preparing this dish, gladly treats guests to them and assures her that her pasties are real.
Surely, every housewife has her own secrets and tricks, and the taste traditions of different families differ. But nevertheless, it is possible to single out the common features inherent in the Crimean pasties. Let's try to understand the intricacies of the preparation of this dish.
Features
Crisp dough for pasties is the most important condition. Bubbles of air, juicy layers saturated with meat juice and a crispy golden crust are its invariable characteristics.
The filling is also important. Usually it is prepared from pork, lamb, beef or minced chicken. But there are other options that are specific to the Crimean cuisine. The influence of Tatar traditions is very strong in it, which means that an important place is given to homemade pickled cheeses, which local housewives have been making for centuries. Crimean chebureks cook with such cheese. The recipe is very similar to the classic, but such a filling does not leave indifferent even convinced meat-eaters.
Puff pastry with sunflower oil
According to this recipe, very tasty Crimean pasties from puff pastry are obtained. Many people mistakenly believe that you can take ready-made frozen dough as the basis or prepare it in the classical way, rubbing layers with butter and rolling. In fact, it exfoliates itself. And the options listed above are suitable for samsa, but not for chebureks.
We will need:
- the yolk of one egg;
- water - 180 ml;
- flour - 480 g;
- vegetable oil (necessarily refined) - 75 ml;
- salt is a pinch.
Sift flour into a bowl - so the dough will turn out magnificent. In a glass, break the yolk with a fork, add salt, pour water in portions. Mix thoroughly and pour into flour. Kneading such a dough is not easy, it behaves a little strange. Do not be afraid of this. First, flakes will appear that do not want to combine into one ball. That is how it should be. This means it's time to add oil. You can pour it directly into the dough or on your hands.
Wrap the dough with vegetable oil with cling film and leave at room temperature for 40 minutes.
Choux pastry
The following Crimean pastry recipe for pasties guarantees an abundance of bubbles on the surface. It contains some strong alcohol. It acts solely as a reagent. During the heat treatment, the degree evaporates completely.
We will need:
- water - a full glass;
- egg - 1 pc. (average);
- salt - a pinch;
- flour - 640 g;
- vegetable oil and vodka - 35 ml each.
We salt water, carefully add oil to it and put on fire. When it boils, remove from heat and begin to stir in the flour. After adding half of the required volume, we break the egg into the dough and pour vodka. We interfere with the rest of the flour as necessary - the dough can take a little less than the specified amount.
Meat filling
To cook Crimean pasties, the recipe of which has been tested by many generations, add broth to the minced meat. This gives the filling a juiciness. On a pound of prepared meat, on average, you need 50 grams of broth. You can replace it with milk or heated water.
Good chefs do not advise skipping onions through a meat grinder - this will squeeze all the juices out of it and destroy the structure. It will be much tastier if you grate the onions. It will make the filling juicy and flavorful. You can just finely chop the onion with a knife on the chopper.
Real Crimean chebureks with cheese
Be sure to try this great dish! Crimeans prepare the filling in many different ways. Suluguni, feta cheese, or any other homemade pickled cheese is perfect for stuffing pasties. For taste and aroma, dill greens, spinach, beet tops, young garlic, green onions are added to it. In order for the filling to form into a single layer, several raw eggs are driven into the cheese. Some people like the combination of cheese and homemade cottage cheese in equal quantities. Try different methods and you will surely find what you like the most. Be sure to add to the cheese filling and hard cheese, for example, cheddar, maasdam or any other that can be grated.
Approximate combinations of products for the preparation of Crimean pasties with cheese:
- feta cheese, suluguni or a mixture thereof - 350 g;
- hard cheese - 150 g;
- salt - a pinch;
- 2 yolks or 1 egg.
Grate cheese on a coarse grater, mix, add eggs, herbs, seasonings and salt, knead well again until the mass becomes homogeneous.
Formation
Roll out the dough, cut a circle out of it with a saucer. Do not apply a thin layer of tortilla filling, otherwise you will get products more like cakes. One cheburek takes a little more than a tablespoon of minced meat. Pinch the edges and gently roll the cheburek with a rolling pin.
Heat treatment process
A cast-iron wok, a deep frying pan or a cauldron is an ideal dish for cooking Crimean pasties. The recipe suggests that they will not just be fried in a pan, but cooked in hot oil.
Pour oil into the dishes with a layer of at least a centimeter. Let it reach a high temperature. Spread pasties one at a time, avoiding splashes on the skin. Do not pierce chebureks during roasting. Otherwise, the juice will flow out, causing plentiful splashes, and all the efforts spent on preparing a crispy pastry for pasties will be in vain. Use a spatula, not a fork.
Put the finished chebureks on paper napkins so that excess fat comes off them. Serve with sauces and chopped herbs.