Recipe: Piroshki Italiano - an Italian take on a Russian tradition

Disclosure: I'm neither Italian nor Russian. Also? Potato is not a traditional filling for the piroshki and, while common now, it wasn't available in Russia back in the day. I'm pretty sure you don't come here for history lessons (mostly because I'm wholly unqualified to teach them), so I'm sending you to Wikipedia for the history of the piroshki.

Let's just say this cross-cultural experiment was inspired by the piroshki, and altered in accordance to what Sexy Vegan Mama had on hand - which was decidedly Italian-ish.

Also, I understand you can fry these, but I abstain from frying as much as possible. It has nothing to do with my waistline (Shut up!) and everything to do with my fear of hot grease spatters and second-degree burns. So, I baked them. (Seriously. Shut up.)

My kids grubbed these down, by the way, and I was able to use some leftovers in a creative way.

Here's what I did:

Sexy Vegan Mama's Piroshki Italiano

Dough Ingredients (I modified this recipe from An Orthodox Kitchen to utilize whole wheat flour and adjust for my preferred ingredients and methods.):

1 c. plus 2 T. warm water ("baby bath water warm")
2 T. yeast

1 t. cane juice crystals or vegan sugar
4 T. olive oil
1 1/2 t. salt (I use a fine sea salt, but any salt will do. It prevents the dough from rising too much.)

3 c. whole wheat flour


Filling Ingredients (I didn't measure, just threw these in with abandon, and actually made too much filling. I see pot pie in my future.):

1 c. leftover mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes (I used scalloped potatoes with basil and "sour cream" - a recipe for another post)
Handful whole kernel corn
Handful cooked or canned kidney beans
A few florets of broccoli, chopped small
Half a red bell pepper, diced
Half an onion (if you aren't using scalloped potatoes), diced
1 or 2 Tofurky Italian Sausage, chopped into small bits
basil to taste
oregano to taste


Optional, but recommended:

Red pasta sauce for dipping

Directions (dough):

Pour water into a large bowl and sprinkle yeast over top. Allow yeast to dissolve. Stir, then add sugar, oil and salt. Stir until sugar and salt dissolve.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly. When dough is too stiff to stir, pull up your sleeves and use your (clean, please!) hands to knead the sucker. Continue kneading until all flour is mixed in, adding more flour or water as necessary to make an elastic, stretchable dough that isn't too sticky... but don't over-knead the dough. (Don't you hate when cookbooks say that? I never knew what it meant until I over-kneaded the dough once. It means don't knead and knead until the dough becomes tough and hard to work with, losing its elasticity. So, don't do that, okay?)

Let dough rest for ten minutes before rolling out.

Roll to about 1/8 inch and cut into 6" to 7" circles. (I used the rim of a margarita glass!)



Directions (filling):

Mash potatoes with a fork if using scalloped potatoes instead of mashed. Add additional ingredients and mix well.

If your filling is very dry, add a bit of vegan sour cream (I use Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream) or red sauce to make it a bit more moist. And, hey - if you go with the red sauce, might as well throw some vegan cheese shreds in there, too! (I like Daiya Deliciously Dairy-Free.) Suddenly, it's more calzone than piroshki, but we're not going for authenticity, here, right?

This is a good time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees.


Directions (assembly):

Place about one tablespoon of filling on each dough circle.

Fold circle almost in half, but not quite. Roll bottom edge of dough tightly around the upper edge of dough, then use your fingers to "crimp" the rolled edges. (See photo.)

Use a fork to poke small vents in the top of each piroshki (I like to make a "V," for "VEGAN"), then space slightly on a lightly-oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until top crusts just begin to brown slightly.

Serve with red sauce for dipping and watch the kids go nuts.

This made 16 for me. It will make more or less for you, depending on how thickly or thinly you roll your dough.

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There is No Japanese Word for “Vegan”

Mr. Wright and I have been collecting every bit of information we can find about Japan, in preparation for our trip this month. We’ve Googled; we’ve Wikipediaed; we’ve talked to friends who lived in or traveled to Japan.

A study guide we found advises we will be expected to remove our shoes and wear slippers when visiting a home in Japan. The slippers are to be worn at all times indoors, except when using the bathroom, where “house slippers” are to be replaced with “toilet slippers.” Care must be taken not to forget to change out of the toilet slippers before returning to other rooms of the house. A girlfriend from college, who lived in Japan for several years, added that it’s regarded as unsanitary to put a nude or almost-nude foot into guest slippers; and she suggested I take footie socks along to slip over my stockings.

The same guide discusses after-hours business meetings, which may include dinner and drinks, which our hosts will insist on paying for. The guide gave a warning that “hostess bars” are not a good idea for businesswomen to attend, but didn’t say exactly what a hostess bar is.

I mentioned this warning to Mr. Wright, and suggested that Japanese hostess bars may be akin to American “gentlemen’s clubs.” Mr. Wright disagreed, opining that “Hostess bars” were probably establishments where Twinkies, HoHos and Ding Dongs were served.

“Probably not a good idea for businesswomen who are watching their weight,” he said. “The book probably just left that last part out.”

One of our Japanese colleagues who will be traveling with us tells me “hostess bars” are simply high-priced clubs that provide expensive atmosphere and sake, but I’m not sure I believe him.

If he and Mr. Wright head out to a hostess bar, Mr. Wright had better come back smelling like chocolate and cream filling. Enough said.

Business cards have a level of importance and regard in Japan not seen in the United States. We may be accustomed to casually handing over our business card, or taking an acquaintance’s card and haphazardly slipping it into a pocket or handbag. Not so, in Japan. The Japanese regard business cards with particular reverence. A business card is a serious thing, recording the bearer’s credentials. It is to be offered – and accepted – with two hands and a slightly bowed head. The receiver of the card should take a few moments to study the card, absorbing and carefully committing to memory the information contained upon it. We will be expected to solemnly study and “understand” the card, even though we don’t read Japanese.

It’s all about ritual.

I was relieved to hear that many of the Japanese read some English, even if they don’t speak it; and some may even attempt to speak English with us. While I found the knowledge comforting, it made me regret my lack of foreign language education. Most developed nations in the world have at least a basic understanding of our language. How arrogant are we Americans to assume that everyone else in the world will speak our language, when our schools – with the exception of a small percentage of bilingual and immersion schools – only teach foreign languages as a college-prep offering?

I feel rather ashamed that I speak no Japanese, yet will be interacting with the people of Japan for a week.

At a pre-travel meeting with our team, I asked our Japanese colleague, “Is there a Japanese word for ‘vegan?’ Or is it such a strange concept in Japan, no one ever needs to say it? Will I be able to eat in Japan?”

After a moment of consideration, he answered, “It’s really the latter. You might want to pack some food to take along.”

If you’re in Japan this month, stop by and say, “Kon'nichiwa.” Or, “Hello,” if you want me to understand you. I’ll be the ignorant American with footie socks and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, peering in the windows of the hostess club.


Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0