Kurnik Pie
Description
Homemade baked goods for tea. A very tasty, old-fashioned recipe from our great-grandmothers, this time-honored dish will delight even the most demanding gourmets. The baked goods are ready. Serve at the table.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
We'll prepare all our ingredients. (salt, oil, and yolk are missing from the photo; I guess I somehow already used these products)
- 2
Step 2
First, we prepare the dough. To do this, melt a pack of margarine, cool it slightly (not completely), add salt, mix well until the salt dissolves, then add a glass of water. Make sure to use enough salt—I took one teaspoon without a heap, because the flour will absorb it later, and if there's too little salt, the dough will taste bland. Add a little flour (it doesn't matter how—sifted or simply spooned in, whichever is convenient), and mix.
- 3
Step 3
add more flour, mix again, and repeat until you get an elastic dough that does not stick to your hands.
- 4
Step 4
After the dough is ready, we put it in the refrigerator and start preparing the filling. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes about 1 cm in size, or slightly smaller, depending on your preference. Why cubes? Because it will be more convenient to eat later. Our dish won't be quite a regular pie, but rather a pie eaten with a spoon. After cutting the potatoes, place them on the stove and boil for 2-3 minutes after boiling starts, until partially cooked. You can cook them all the way through, but then there's a risk of ending up with mashed potatoes, depending on the potato variety.
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Step 5
While the potatoes are boiling, peel and finely dice the onion and cut the chicken fillet.
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Step 6
After cooking, remove the potatoes and drain them in a colander to let the water drip off. Let them cool slightly; if you don't have patience to wait, you can carefully rinse them under cold water. Then season with salt and pepper, and mix together the chicken fillet, onion, and potatoes.
- 7
Step 7
Here our filling is already ready, and we're back at it again))) That is, back to the dough. We cut it into two parts, one slightly larger, the other slightly smaller.
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Step 8
We roll out the larger piece first, as it will serve as the base of our creation, so it shouldn't be rolled too thin. It's better to roll it to a thickness of about 7 mm to 1 cm, then make the edges of the circle thinner. This way, we'll get a thick bottom and thin edges for the pie. The edges should hang slightly over the edge of the pan, making it easier to seal later.
- 9
Step 9
Ah, almost forgot—I have an old, reliable cast-iron skillet; I just greased it with sunflower oil. You can sprinkle a little flour on it too. So, once the first layer is in the pan, roll out the second one. Roll it to exactly the same size as the pan to avoid unattractive wrinkles. It's okay if it's not thin either. Now carefully and evenly spread the filling—don't worry if it seems like too much; pile it up high. That's how it should be. (This is exactly why we precooked the potatoes, so we don't have to worry about the pie not baking through!) Finally, top it with a few slices of butter.
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Step 10
Once everything is ready, cover the pie with the second rolled piece of dough, seal the edges, and make a hole about 2 cm in diameter in the center.
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Step 11
Before putting the Kurник in the oven, make sure it's well preheated—about 180°C. Bake the pie for 30 minutes, then take it out and pour in approximately 200 ml (I used a small mug) of salted and peppered boiled water. By this time, the dough has formed a sort of sturdy "pot" during its half hour in the hot oven, and by pouring in water (or chicken broth, if available), we create juiciness inside. Then return the pie to the oven. I covered mine with foil because it started to burn, and lowered the temperature (I'm using a gas stove, so I can't say exactly, but roughly down to 100°C), continuing to bake for another 20–30 minutes until fully cooked. Five minutes before it's done, take it out, brush with beaten egg yolk, and put it back in to brown.
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Step 12
And here our pie is ready, straight from the heat, so to speak
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Step 13
Don't rush to eat it right away))) Let it rest for a bit. Cover it with foil or a plastic bag and wrap it in a warm blanket or place it under a pillow for about 10 minutes. That way, the crust will become softer.
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Step 14
And one more thing: don't prepare it in advance. It should be eaten right after baking, because over time the broth gets absorbed into the bottom crust, making it less juicy. The right way to eat it is this: cut through the top crust, break off a piece, then use a spoon to spread the filling along with the broth. Only after that should you cut into the bottom crust. This is what makes a true Kurник! The most delicious pie in the world!