Uszka (Polish Mushroom Dumplings)

I probably don't need to write much about uszka (little mushroom-filled dumplings, literally "little ears"). In my house, there's no barszcz (clear red beet soup) on Christmas Eve without uszka. They're the most important addition on the table.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• water

Filling:

• 50 g dried mushrooms (preferably porcini, soaked overnight)
• 50 g button mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• salt
• pepper

Cook the dried mushrooms in the water they soaked in overnight until soft. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the butter until translucent. Finely chop the button mushrooms and add them to the onion. Do the same with the dried mushrooms. Season.

Make a dough from the dough ingredients and roll it out thinly. Cut the dough into 5x5 cm squares. Put a little filling in the center of each and fold into uszka, i.e. pinch together the top and bottom corners, and then the two side corners that result. Cook in salted boiling water, drain, and serve with barszcz.

Tips:

You can replace the button mushrooms with sauerkraut or leave them out altogether.