Perishke are Ukrainian filled buns. In this case, they are filled with cottage cheese and dill, and served with a dill cream sauce.
Today I'm bringing you another Ukrainian recipe that I grew up eating at major holidays. My Grandma made Perishke (Ukrainian Buns Filled with Cottage Cheese and Dill) for Christmas and other holidays throughout my childhood.
They were one of my favorites among the Ukrainian recipes she made, and I recently decided to learn how to make them myself. Like when I tried my hand at making Nalysnyky, figuring out how to make these involved contacting my Aunt to get my Grandma's old recipe, trying to interpret said recipe (it was really only a list of ingredients with almost no instructions), comparing with other recipes online, and calling my Aunt again to try and get more detailed instructions.
In the end, I was pretty happy with the result, and while I think the individual Nalyskyky that I made are bigger than the ones my Grandma made, that means they were slightly less work. The flavor was exactly how I remembered, and I would definitely make these again for special occasions, or just when I'm craving a little nostalgic comfort food.
How to Make Perishke:
Making Perishke, like making many traditional Ukrainian dishes, is a bit of a project. Start with making the dough.
The dough used to make Perishke is an enriched dough (it has eggs, sugar, and oil added) made with all-purpose flour. I used a stand mixer to make the dough for my Perishke, but you could also use a food processor, or knead the dough by hand. Once the dough is mixed, you will have to let it rise for at least an hour.
While the dough is rising, you can go ahead and make the filling. The filling is similar to that used in Nalyskyky, and it simply involves stirring dry curd cottage cheese, cream, dill, salt, and pepper together.
Once the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down, and start making the perishky. Cut off a 1-ounce (28g) piece of dough, form it into a ball, then roll the ball into a circle. Place a small amount of filling in the center of the circle, then pinch the edges of the dough closed. Place the filled dough onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, and repeat with all of the remaining dough and filling.
Cover the perishke and let them rise again before baking. Once they are baked, you can transfer them to a serving dish, pour cream sauce over them, and serve them immediately, or you can cool them to serve later.
Perishke Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast
- Table salt
- Warm water
- Canola oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Large eggs
- Dry curd cottage cheese - Dry cottage cheese: depending on where you live, this is sometimes available in tubs by the regular cottage cheese. It might also be available as a pressed block in the cheese aisle. If you can't find it, see the tips below for substitution ideas.
- Heavy cream - You could replace this with sour cream or yogurt (in the filling but not in the cream sauce), or 18% table cream, or 10% half-and-half.
- Fresh dill
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Butter (either salted or unsalted will work)
What if I can't find Dry Curd Cottage Cheese?
If dry curd cottage cheese is not available, you can substitute farmer's cheese, which is similar. Simply crumble it up and proceed with the recipe.
If neither of these are available, purchase regular cottage cheese. Place it in a fine mesh strainer (you may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your strainer - don't overfill it), and rinse away the cream portion of the cottage cheese. Let the curds remain in the strainer to drain away any excess water, then proceed with the recipe.
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Perishke Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one perishke bun, if you follow the recipe as written to make 32 buns.
Replacing the heavy cream with a lower-fat cream, or with sour cream or yogurt will slightly reduce the calories, total fat, and saturated fat.
Perishke (Ukrainian Buns with Cottage Cheese and Dill)
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 3 ½ cups (420 g) all-purpose flour, 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast, and ½ teaspoon (3 g) table salt. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together 1 cup warm water, ¼ cup canola oil, and 2 large eggs. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and lightly stir.
- Set the bowl into the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed, and mix until all of the flour is incorporated, about 5 minutes, turning off the mixer to scrape down the sides periodically. If the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl after all of the flour has been mixed in, add up to ½ cup more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time, making sure that all of the previous flour has been incorporated before adding more. Continue mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer, but sticks to the bottom, about 5-10 more minutes.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead 5-10 times until it forms a ball. Place the ball into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic (or a lid) and let rise for 1-1 ½ hours until the dough is doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, mix up the filling. Stir together 1 cup dry curd cottage cheese, 1 Tablespoon heavy cream , 1-2 teaspoons minced fresh dill, ½ teaspoon table salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Turn on the oven to 350°F
- Using a kitchen scale, measure out 1 ounce (28g) of dough. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. Roll the dough into a ball, then use a rolling pin to roll and stretch the dough into a roughly 3" round. Note that the dough will be sticky, and it's helpful to work on a lightly floured surface, keeping additional flour on hand as needed.
- Holding the dough in the palm of your hand, carefully place about 2 teaspoons of the cottage cheese filling in the center with the other hand. Put the spoon down, and carefully pull the edges of the dough around the filling, pinching to seal it completely. Place the filled dough ball on one of the prepared baking sheets, seam side down. Cover gently with a clean towel while you continue.
- Repeat the above two steps with the remaining dough. Allow the buns to rise a little longer on the baking sheet (up to about 10-15 minutes after you've added the last bun to the baking sheet. When you're ready to bake the buns, very gently and very lightly brush the tops with melted butter.
- Bake the buns until the tops are golden brown, about 25 minutes, turning the sheets halfway through baking. Note that I find it easier to bake the sheets one at a time, since it takes so long to form and stuff the buns, that the first ones you make are already risen and ready to bake well before the last ones.
- To serve immediately: Stir together ½ cup heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill, ¼ teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and any leftover melted butter you have from brushing the buns before baking. Heat the mixture in the microwave until hot, about 30-60 seconds. Transfer the buns to a serving platter or bowl, and pour the hot cream sauce over them. Serve immediately.
- To serve later: Let the buns cool to room temperature then transfer to a large zipper bag and store in the fridge. When you want to serve them, heat the oven to 325°F. Transfer the buns to a large casserole dish or a 9x13" baking dish (separate the buns into two smaller dishes if needed). Whisk together ½ cup heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill, ¼ teaspoon table salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to make the dill cream sauce. Pour the sauce over the buns (there is no need to heat it this time). Cover the dish with a lid or with aluminum foil, and bake for 20-30 minutes until hot. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Natalie says
Thanks so much for this recipe, C! I am still working on my rolling technique, this batch I had some buns with thick bottoms and thin tops. Tasty regardless!
Carissa says
I know what you mean - mine were far from perfect like my Grandma's used to be too!
Jenna says
Can I still make this if I don’t have a mixer? Can I hand mix?
Carissa says
Yes, you can knead the dough by hand as you would to make any other bread dough.