It's World Pasta Month which means I'm sharing pasta recipes every Monday and Thursday for all of October! Although vareniki are *technically* dumplings I'm gonna go ahead and say they qualify as pasta as well. I mean, ravioli are pasta, right? Why can't we extend the same courtesy to vareniki? This recipe is a bit involved. To lighten your load I'd suggest using pre-cooked or frozen beets (or you can be like me and complicate life unnecessarily at every opportunity). You can also prep the beets, garlic, and potatoes a day ahead! Enjoy :)
Beet dough potato vareniki with roasted garlic and goat cheese
What You Need
Filling:
1.5lbs Yukon gold potatoes or 4 russet potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup goat cheese
5 bulbs garlic
S+P to taste
Dough:
2 cups flour
1 medium-sized beet (or 1/4 cup beet puree)
1/4 cup kefir (or buttermilk)
1 egg
Topping:
2-3 large yellow onions, sliced into rounds
1/2 stick butter
Dill, optional
What You Do
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the beet(s) with olive oil and enclose in foil. Slice the top off each garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil + salt, and enclose individually in foil. Roast the beet until fork-tender (about 1.5 hours), then blend. Check on the garlic every 20-30 minutes and remove when soft. Pro tip: you can easily use pre-cooked or frozen beets to cut down on time!!
Add sliced onions to a skillet over low heat with half a stick of butter. Cook until caramelized - about 1 hour - stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork tender. Drain, allow to cool, peel, then mash in a large bowl. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and season to taste. Refrigerate.
Dough time: combine 1/4 cup beet puree with 1/4 cup kefir and add to a well in the center of a bowl with 2 cups of flour. Add one egg and whisk, stir, then knead for 5 or so minutes until the dough ball is bouncy to the touch. For more details on making pasta dough click here. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough 1/4 at a time and place on a floured surface. Using a cup or mug, make circular cutouts in the dough, add filling to the center of each round and pinch the vareniki shut. Place the finished vareniki on a floured sheet pan and repeat until all the dough and/or filling is used up.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook your desired about of vareniki for 3-4 minutes (until they float). Toss withbutter, top with caramelized onions + dill
