I love cooking traditional Ukrainian food for my family, and replicating the dishes into Vegetarian counterparts for myself.

This time I was trying to mash both Ukrainian & American foods together (I was going for the Ukrainian version of Arby’s Beef N Cheddar in my head) for something a little different. The flavor was AMAZING, but the cheese wasn’t saucy enough for what I was aiming for. I think next time I’ll make a cheese sauce instead of mixing the cheese together in the filling.

However my family will tell you that these piroshki are absolutely perfect the way they are. They begged me to write this down so I could remake them again, and told me that serving it alongside my Green Ajika sauce would take it to the next level.

Ingredients | Dough

• 1 1/2 Cup Warmed Whole Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/4 Cup Melted Butter
• 1 Large Egg
• 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Ingredients | Filling

• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 Pound Vegetarian Ground “Beef” Crumbles
• 1 Onion
• 3 Cups Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Dill
• 2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions | Dough

• Whisk the warmed milk & sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast on top of mixture, set aside, and let proof for 5 minutes.
• Add in melted butter, egg, and salt, and allow your stand mixer to whisk for 2 minutes.
• Switch from your whisk attachment to your dough hook attachment & begin adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until a dough ball has formed.
• Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, then transfer to a large greased bowl for 1 – 1/2 hours.

Directions | Filling

• Cook ground “beef” crumbles according to package or preference, set aside.
• Grate onion into a large mixing bowl.
• Add cooked, but cooled ground “beef” crumbles, Cheddar cheese, dill, salt, pepper, & garlic powder to the bowl with onion. Mix together. Set aside.

Directions | Assemble

• On a floured surface, cut your dough into 16 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece into small circles and fill with 1/4 cup of filling. Fold dough from the middle down to close tightly and place seam side down. Repeat until all are assembled.
• Fry in small batches in a large Dutch Oven cast iron pot over medium heat for a total of 5 minutes each, flipping after every minute for even heating.
• Serve & Enjoy!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov