I have so many good memories ofmy days working with my friend Nancy at the Culinary Center of Kansas City, butone of the things I enjoyed doing the most was the series of "Bistro Dinners" we preparedtogether. We usually cooked 2 or 3 BistroDinners a month. These dinners were opento the public and were served at long family-style tables. They were always fun and festive. Generally, we prepared four courses...and there was always a particular theme. We did special holiday themeddinners...regional and seasonal dinners...and ethnic dinners of allkinds. Because we covered so much foodterritory during the preparation of these meals, I was exposed to a lot offoods and traditions that I might not have ever experienced otherwise...Nancycreated some very fun and interesting menus.
I was reminded of all ofthis recently when I was bouncing ideas off of Nancy for an upcomingValentine's Day dinner class. Nancy suggestedthat I resurrect a Polish Borsch that we had served at a Christmas bistrodinner. I remembered this particulardish because it was so elegant and beautiful....a clear, deep red broth withtiny mushroom dumplings...called uszka...floating in it. And even though this dish is traditionallyserved in Poland for Christmas Eve, I agreed that it would be just the thing as a firstcourse for Valentine's Day.
I have not altered the brothrecipe that we used at all (I think it was from Saveur Magazine...but I'm not really sure). It issimple and delicious...and very easy to make. Even so, Ido have a fewpointers to share: First, the seemingly large amountof lemon juice is correct. As I looked at the recipe again, I wasdubious. But the acidity of the lemon sets the deep, bright color...and, justas importantly, balances the sweet, earthiness of the beets. I have seen recipes that use vinegar instead,but I can't personally vouch for these.If you would like to try vinegar, use half as much.
Secondly, keep all of thevegetables in very large chunks....or whole...and don't boil the brothhard. Cutting the vegetables into smallpieces and/or cooking at a hard boil will make for a cloudy broth. It isn't really even necessary to boil thebroth. After it comes to an initialsimmer, it should just be kept at what I would call a bare simmer. An instant read thermometer will read somewherebetween 190° and 200°. Then, if timeallows, let the broth sit and cool at room temperature for a couple ofhours. Better yet, chill thebroth—before straining the solids out—over night. When made this way, the final flavor of thebroth will be full and developed.
Finally, even if for somereason you decide not to make the amazing little mushroom dumplings that aretraditionally served in this soup, don't leave out the dried porcini whenmaking the broth. They add a lot of flavor. To be honest, I can't imagine making thissoup without the dumplings...they add so much.And since making the mushroom filling involves soaking and simmeringdried mushrooms, I add their liquid to the soup too....
The mushroom filling I usedin the dumplings is a mixture of cooked dried porcinis and fresh criminis. I have seen recipes that use all fresh or alldried, but I like a mix. Using mostlyfresh saves a bit of money....and using a small amount of dried amplifies theflavor. A lot of recipes insist on allporcini (fresh and/or dried), but I have seen more than one recipe that says thedumplings are traditionally made with whatever mushroom is available. No matter what kind of mushroom you use, cookthem until all the moisture has been released and has evaporated. If the filling is runny or wet, the doughwill become soggy as it leaches the moisture out of the filling. The filling includes bread crumbs to help absorb any moisture that might remain.
The dough that istraditionally used to make the dumplings is very similar to fresh Italian pasta. In fact, the dumplings arebasically the same thing as tortellini. Italiannoodle dough is made of eggs and flour.The traditional polish dough substitutes water (sometimes milk) and alittle oil for some of the egg. BecauseI like the all egg dough I usually make, that's what I use when Imake the uszka. If you don't want tomake the dough at all, you may use purchased wonton wrappers instead.
If you have never made pastabefore, check out my post on fresh spinach pasta from several years ago. As noted at the bottom of that recipe, themethod for plain pasta is the same. Theonly difference is that the sheets of dough are rolled more thinly—you shouldbe able to see shapes and patterns through the sheet of dough—and the dough iscut and filled immediately after rolling into sheets (whereas pasta sheets thatwill be cut into ribbons are allowed to sit out until they lose some of theirmoisture and begin to feel somewhat leathery).
While I was experimentingwith the uszka, I decided to make a quick little lunch one day...serving theuszka Italian style. It was so good Iwanted to share it here (although you can find recipes just like this all over the web). I simply saucedsome of the cooked uszka...more appropriately called mushroom tortellini inthis guise...in some browned butter with fried sage and lemon. I topped the dish with a mix of gratedParmesan and Pecorino.It was delicious and would be worth making the uszka simply to have them like this. Just like the Borsch, I think it would make a wonderful first course for adinner with friends.
Barszcz z Uszkami
Borsch with Mushroom Dumplings(Uszka)
4 large beets (800g), peeled and quartered
1 large carrot (120g), peeled
1 parsnip (120g), peeled
1 medium leek, white part only
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 allspice berries
10 black peppercorns
1/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
36 to 48 uszka
Put the beets, carrot, parsnip, leek, bay leaves,lemon juice, allspice, peppercorns, porcini, and chicken stock in a large pot,and add 8 cups of cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, thenreduce heat to medium-low, and barely simmer for about 2 hours (the temperatureshould hover around 190°). Remove from heat and let sit for 2 hours. If time, chill overnight to allow it to steepeven further. Strain, and discard thesolids. Add water to make 6 cups broth.
Return beet stock to the pot and bring back to asimmer over low heat. Correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and more lemon asnecessary. Place 6 cooked uszka ineach of 6 to 8 individual soup plates, and pour the hot borsch over the uszka.Serve immediately.
Uszka
(Mushroom Dumplings)
1/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked overnight acup of water
2 to 3 T. butter
1 small yellow onion (4 to 5 oz.), peeled and finelyminced
6 oz. fresh mushrooms (crimini, white button, etc.),finely chopped in the
food processor
1/4 c. fresh white bread crumbs
2 T. minced flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh pasta dough or purchased Wonton wrappers
Transfer porcini to a small pot, then strain soakingliquid through a coffee filter (or damp paper towel) into the same pot. Simmerover medium-low heat, adding water as necessary, until porcini are tender,about 2 hours. Remove porcini from the pot, finely mince, and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid into the Borsch.
Melt 2 T. butter in a medium skillet set over mediumheat. Add onions and sauté until tender and golden, about 10 to 15minutes...add the remaining tablespoon of butter if the pan seems dry. Add the fresh mushrooms and minced porciniand continue to cook until the liquid given up by the mushrooms has evaporatedand the mixture begins to sizzle—about 10 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs andparsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Set aside to cool. (The fillingmay be made a day or two ahead. Coverand chill.)
If using fresh pasta, roll out dough on a lightlyfloured surface or using your pasta machine (as described in the recipe below)until very thin (it should be thin enough to see shapes/patterns through it).Cut into 50 or so 1 3/4- to 2-inch squares, and cover with plastic wrap toprevent the squares from drying out. (If using wonton wrappers, trim so theyare 2-inch squares.)
Place a scant teaspoon of filling in the center ofeach square, lightly dampen the edges with water, then fold bottom corner totop corner, pressing gently from the top down the sides to remove any airpockets. At this point they should look like triangles. Fold the right and leftcorners over each other, and pinch them between your thumb and forefinger sothey hold together. Set the uszka on a semolina dusted sheet pan, making surethey aren't touching, as you form them.
The uszka may be cooked right away, or they may bestored for up to 24 hours under refrigeration. To store,allow them to dry slightly, uncovered, at room temperature, for about anhour. Then, cover them loosely with alinen or paper towel and wrap the sheet pan tightly in with plastic wrap andtransfer to the refrigerator.
Cook uszka in batches in a large pot of gently boilingsalted water over high heat, until the pasta is al dente...about 3 to 4minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon, transferring them directlyto serving bowls or placing them on a lightly oiled baking sheet where they maybe kept, lightly covered with plastic wrap, until ready to serve. Chill if not serving within an hour ofcooking.
Note: Although not ideal, the uszka may also be frozen for up to a week. Place the sheets with the uskza in the freezer and when they are frozen hard, transfer to ziplock freezer bags and seal. When ready to cook, spread them on a semolina dusted sheet and let them thaw, uncovered. This will only take about 20 minutes. Cook as for fresh.
FreshPasta:
1 1/2 c. (165 to 175 grams) all-purpose flour, plusmore for rolling
2 large eggs (100 to 110 grams)
Semolina flour
Mound the flour on a countertop and make a well in the center. Crackthe eggs into the well and break them up with a fork. Gradually begin incorporating flour from thewalls of the well into the eggs. Whenthe walls start to collapse, begin using a bench scraper to cut the flour andliquid ingredients together. At firstthe dough will seem an unmanageable, shaggy mass. Begin to work the dough until you have acohesive mass that you can knead without it sticking to your fingers. This initial formation of the dough will takeabout three minutes. If at the end ofthis time there is unincorporated flour remaining, sift it to remove any bitsof dough. Set this sifted flour aside tobe used for the remainder of the kneading process and wash your hands to removeany caked on bits.
Continue to knead the dough(adding flour if the dough is sticky) for 10 minutes until the dough is satiny,smooth and elastic—with no trace of stickiness.Wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes to 3 hours.
Alternatively, place theeggs and flour in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Begin to mix on the lowest speed. When the dough begins to come together,increase the speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes.
To roll out the dough usinga pasta machine, work with half of the dough at a time. Flatten the dough into a thick disk and flourlightly. Starting with the widestsetting, pass the dough through the rollers six to eight times or until thedough firms up, folding it in thirds each time and turning the dough so an openend feeds into the roller. Continue to lightlyflour the dough as you work. Set therollers at the next, narrower setting and pass the dough through two or threetimes or until the dough is almost the width of the roller, folding in halfeach time and passing through the rollers folded edge first. Set the rollers for the next, narrowersetting and pass the dough through, but do not fold it. Run the dough through at each successivelynarrower setting, until the desired thickness is achieved.
(Pasta recipe adapted from The Splendid Tableby Lynne Rossetto Kasper)
Note: This recipemakes almost twice as much dough as you need to make 50 uszka...I would have written the recipe for half quantities, butthis leaves no wiggle room for differences in how people roll out dough. I would prefer not to cut it so close.
Mushroom Tortellini in Sage Browned Butter
6 to 8 T. unsalted butter
20 to 24 small sage leaves
Lemon juice to taste
Salt & pepper
1 recipe uszka/mushroom tortellini (about 50...or 250grams)
Freshly grated Parmesan and/or Pecorino
Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over mediumheat. As the butter continues to cook itwill bubble and spatter. When thespattering begins to subside, watch the butter very carefully—the milk solidswill brown very quickly at this point.When the solids have turned a nice golden brown, remove the pan from theheat. Add the sage leaves and let sizzlebriefly until they crisp. Cool the pandown by dipping in a shallow pan of cool water, or by adding a few drops ofcool water to the butter and swirl in. Seasonthe butter to taste with lemon juice and salt.It will take a fair amount of both—don’t be timid. Set aside while you cook the tortellini.
Drop the tortellini in a large pot of gently boilingsalted water. Cook until the pasta is aldente...about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon,transferring them to the pan of warm browned sage butter. Toss to coat in the butter, adding a splashof the cooking water to extend the sauce if necessary. Divide the tortellini among 4 plates. Scatter some freshly grated Parmesan orPecorino over and serve right away.
