Cuisine: The Polish Palate
•
Course: Side Dishes Appetizers
•
Diet: Vegetarian

Uszka do Barszczu Czerwonego (Wild Mushroom Dumplings)

Delicate, hand-folded Polish dumplings packed with an intensely earthy wild mushroom and caramelised onion filling.
Prep time 45m
Cook time 1h 5m
Rest time 30m
Total 2h 20m
Yield 6
Per serving:
263 kcal
44g Carbs
9g Protein
5g Fat
By Adam Dworak

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Ingredients

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Kitchen Kit

  • Large Pot
  • Rolling Pin
  • Slotted Spoon
  • Frying Pan
  • Small Pot
  • Chef's Knife
  • Chopping Board
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Fork

Method

  1. Chuck the dried wild mushrooms into a small pot, pour over 500ml of boiling water from the kettle, and leave them to hydrate for 30 minutes. Once softened, simmer them over medium heat for another 20 minutes until tender. Drain well, reserving the dark liquid for your borscht, and mince the mushrooms incredibly fine.
  2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Finely dice the onions and sweat them down until completely softened and starting to caramelise. Tip in the minced mushrooms.
  3. Season the filling with 3g of the salt and all of the black pepper. Cook the mixture down until any excess moisture has completely steamed dry. Set aside to cool completely.
  4. To make the dough, pile the flour onto a clean work surface or into a large mixing bowl. Dissolve 3g of the salt into 200ml of hot water. Pour the hot water into the flour, mixing roughly with a fork until it starts to clump.
  5. Crack the egg into the shaggy dough mixture. Get your hands in and knead vigorously for 5 to 8 minutes until perfectly smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  6. Fill a large pot with the remaining 2000ml of water, chuck in the remaining 12g of salt, and set it over high heat. Factor in about 15 to 20 minutes for this volume of water to reach a rolling boil.
  7. Cut the rested dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until it is paper-thin—about 1 to 2mm thick. Cut the sheet into 3cm x 3cm squares.
  8. Place a tiny mound (about half a teaspoon) of the cooled mushroom filling in the centre of each square. Fold corner to corner to create a triangle, pinching the edges tightly to seal. Wrap the two opposite base corners around your index finger and pinch them together to form a little ear. Repeat until all dough and filling are used.
  9. Drop the uszka into the rapidly boiling water in batches. Give them a gentle stir so they don't stick to the bottom. Once they float to the surface, let them cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  10. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, drain well, and serve immediately submerged in steaming hot red borscht.
Chef's Note & Storage
Fridge 2 days. Toss lightly in neutral oil before storing to prevent sticking, or freeze raw on a dusted tray before transferring to a freezer bag.
00:00

Uszka: The Soul of the Christmas Eve Borscht

There is no proper Czerwony Barszcz without these little dumplings floating in the deep, ruby broth. Uszka demand patience, but they reward you with an intense, earthy hit of wild forest mushrooms trapped inside a delicate, elastic dough. The secret to authentic Polish uszka lies not just in the folding, but in achieving a filling that is intensely savoury and a dough that holds its chew without turning to mush in your soup.

CHEF'S SECRET: Hot water is the key to an elastic, forgiving dough. Scalding the flour slightly denatures the gluten, making the dough incredibly soft and easy to roll out paper-thin without snapping back.

❖

Master the Fold

Do not overstuff them. An uszko is meant to be a delicate bite, an accent to the borscht, not a massive dumpling. The filling should be finely minced, cooked down until practically dry so the moisture doesn't blow out the dough from the inside, and seasoned aggressively—the surrounding broth will wash away some of the surface seasoning.

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Barszcz Czerwony (Traditional Polish Red Borscht)

Barszcz Czerwony (Traditional Polish Red Borscht)
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Uszka do Barszczu Czerwonego (Wild Mushroom Dumplings)
Cuisine:The Polish Palate
Course:Side Dishes, Appetizers
Diet:Vegetarian

Uszka do Barszczu Czerwonego (Wild Mushroom Dumplings)

By Adam Dworak

Delicate, hand-folded Polish dumplings packed with an intensely earthy wild mushroom and caramelised onion filling.

Prep 45m
Cook 1h 5m
Rest 30m
Total 2h 20m
Yield 6

Kitchen Kit

  • •Large Pot
  • •Rolling Pin
  • •Slotted Spoon
  • •Frying Pan
  • •Small Pot
  • •Chef's Knife
  • •Chopping Board
  • •Large Mixing Bowl
  • •Fork
Per serving:
263 kcal
44g Carbs
9g Protein
5g Fat

Ingredients

  • 300 g Plain Flour
  • 2700 ml Water
  • 1 pcs Eggs
  • 50 g Dried Forest Mushrooms
  • 150 g Brown Onion
  • 30 g Unsalted Butter
  • 18 g Salt
  • 2 g Black Pepper

Method

Step-by-step instructions.

Chef's Note:
Fridge 2 days. Toss lightly in neutral oil before storing to prevent sticking, or freeze raw on a dusted tray before transferring to a freezer bag.
  1. Chuck the dried wild mushrooms into a small pot, pour over 500ml of boiling water from the kettle, and leave them to hydrate for 30 minutes. Once softened, simmer them over medium heat for another 20 minutes until tender. Drain well, reserving the dark liquid for your borscht, and mince the mushrooms incredibly fine.
  2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Finely dice the onions and sweat them down until completely softened and starting to caramelise. Tip in the minced mushrooms.
  3. Season the filling with 3g of the salt and all of the black pepper. Cook the mixture down until any excess moisture has completely steamed dry. Set aside to cool completely.
  4. To make the dough, pile the flour onto a clean work surface or into a large mixing bowl. Dissolve 3g of the salt into 200ml of hot water. Pour the hot water into the flour, mixing roughly with a fork until it starts to clump.
  5. Crack the egg into the shaggy dough mixture. Get your hands in and knead vigorously for 5 to 8 minutes until perfectly smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  6. Fill a large pot with the remaining 2000ml of water, chuck in the remaining 12g of salt, and set it over high heat. Factor in about 15 to 20 minutes for this volume of water to reach a rolling boil.
  7. Cut the rested dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until it is paper-thin—about 1 to 2mm thick. Cut the sheet into 3cm x 3cm squares.
  8. Place a tiny mound (about half a teaspoon) of the cooled mushroom filling in the centre of each square. Fold corner to corner to create a triangle, pinching the edges tightly to seal. Wrap the two opposite base corners around your index finger and pinch them together to form a little ear. Repeat until all dough and filling are used.
  9. Drop the uszka into the rapidly boiling water in batches. Give them a gentle stir so they don't stick to the bottom. Once they float to the surface, let them cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  10. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, drain well, and serve immediately submerged in steaming hot red borscht.

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Uszka: The Soul of the Christmas Eve Borscht

There is no proper Czerwony Barszcz without these little dumplings floating in the deep, ruby broth. Uszka demand patience, but they reward you with an intense, earthy hit of wild forest mushrooms trapped inside a delicate, elastic dough. The secret to authentic Polish uszka lies not just in the folding, but in achieving a filling that is intensely savoury and a dough that holds its chew without turning to mush in your soup.

CHEF'S SECRET: Hot water is the key to an elastic, forgiving dough. Scalding the flour slightly denatures the gluten, making the dough incredibly soft and easy to roll out paper-thin without snapping back.

❖

Master the Fold

Do not overstuff them. An uszko is meant to be a delicate bite, an accent to the borscht, not a massive dumpling. The filling should be finely minced, cooked down until practically dry so the moisture doesn't blow out the dough from the inside, and seasoned aggressively—the surrounding broth will wash away some of the surface seasoning.