Curd cheese patties

In Russia we call them “sochni”. It’s probably an easy one after the Olympiad in Sochi. Nearly the same word. ‘Sotch-nee’. Basically it means they are juicy. Oh, I can tell you they are.

To make it right I strongly advise you to visit your nearest Polish food store and get half a kilo of “twarog”. It’s a very special kind of soft cheese which tastes between Ricotta and cottage cheese. You add some salt and sugar to it and it starts “crying” – give out some water. Then you add some egg – so all that moist filling holds together nicely when you bake it and doesn’t try to escape after the first bite.

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I don’t know why no one in my family ever made sochni. They are easy and really delish. But still it is a kind of childhood memory for me, ’cause my mom used to buy them every time we went out shopping. Sochni was a typical Russian street food a quarter of century ago.

Recipe:
(makes 10, cooking time 35 minutes plus 30 minutes for chilling)

For the pastry:
100 g butter
330 g flour
150 g sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

For the filling:
200 g curd cheese (twarog)
30 g sugar
1 egg (white and yolk separated)
½ vanilla extract

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Cut the cold butter into cubes, mix it with flour in a big bowl and rub it with your hands to get fine crumbs. Add sugar, salt, baking soda and mix well.

Make a well in the centre, fold in yoghurt and egg. Mix and then knead to form soft dough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.

Make sure that the curd cheese is dry enough – no liquid is coming out. Work it over with a fork till it’s crumbly.

Add sugar, vanilla extract and egg white and mix thoroughly.

Roll the chilled pastry on a table top dusted with flour. It should be about 1 cm thick.

Using a large cookie cutter (about 10 cm) cut out circles, place about 2-3 tbsp of filling in the centre of every circle and brush the edges with egg yolk.

Fold the circle in half, wrapping the filling,. You should get about a dozen perfect halfmoons.

Place them onto the tray, covered with parchment paper or a silicon sheet. Brush with egg yolk.

Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes.

sochni

russian pasties for breakfast

Sochni
Yields 10
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr 15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr 15 min
For the pastry
  1. 100 g butter
  2. 330 g flour
  3. 150 g sugar
  4. 1 egg
  5. 3 tbsp plain yoghurt
  6. ½ tsp baking soda
  7. 1 tsp salt
For the filling
  1. 200 g curd cheese (twarog)
  2. 30 g sugar
  3. 1 egg (white and yolk separated)
  4. ½ vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Cut the cold butter into cubes, mix it with flour in a big bowl and rub it with your hands to get fine crumbs. Add sugar, salt, baking soda and mix well.
  2. Make a well in the centre, fold in yoghurt and egg. Mix and then knead to form soft dough.
  3. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile prepare the filling.
  5. Make sure that the curd cheese is dry enough – no liquid is coming out. Work it over with a fork till it’s crumbly.
  6. Add sugar, vanilla extract and egg white and mix thoroughly.
  7. Roll the chilled pastry on a table top dusted with flour. It should be about 1 cm thick.
  8. Using a large cookie cutter (about 10 cm) cut out circles, place about 2-3 tbsp of filling in the centre of every circle and brush the edges with egg yolk.
  9. Fold the circle in half, wrapping the filling,. You should get about a dozen perfect halfmoons.
  10. Place them onto the tray, covered with parchment paper or a silicon sheet. Brush with egg yolk.
  11. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes.
Yellow Chimney https://yellowchimney.com/

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