Recipes to Rival - Beet Leaf Holopchi

This month, Katbaro of A Good Appetite and Giz & Psychgrad from Equal Opportunity Kitchen are the hosts of Recipes to Rival. Last month I sadly completed only half of the challenge, but the gougeres were such a success I felt satisfied. This month I was determined to complete the challenge - and with a dish that requires three risings and 5 to 6 hours, this was no easy feat.

This month's challenge is a Ukrainian dish, hearty and comforting for winter, called beet leaf holopchi. I followed the suggestions of another Recipe to Rivaler and quartered the original recipe - I can't even imagine how much that made! As it was, I filled a large baking pan and had enough extra dough to bake a loaf of bread! I also used red chard rather than beet leaves. You can see another posting on this dish here.

Beet Leaf Holopchi
from The Keld Community Ladies Club in Ashville, Manitoba (1976).

Ingredients:
1/4 t sugar
2 T warm water
1 1/8 t instant yeast
1/2 c scalded (or simply heated) milk
1 c warm water
1 T melted butter
2 c flour
2 T beaten egg
1/2 T salt
1 t sugar
1 1/2 c flour plus more as needed

Method:
Dissolve 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup tepid water, sprinkle with yeast and let stand for 10 minutes. To the milk-water liquid add the melted butter, dissolved yeast and 2 cups flour.

Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). Add salt, beaten eggs, sugar and remaining flour; add up to 1/2 cup additional flour until mixture is smooth, not sticky.


Knead well until dough is smooth and top with melted butter or oil. Place in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk. It will take about 2 hours. Punch down.

When dough has risen to double in bulk, place a piece of dough, the size of a walnut on a beet leaf and roll up (leaving sides open) Place holopchi loosely in a pot to allow for dough to rise to double in bulk again (about an hour).


Arrange in layers, dotting each layer with butter. Cover tightly, bake in a moderate oven of 350 F for 3/4 to 1 hour. Serve with dill sauce or cream and onion sauce (below). (Katbaro recommends cooking the holopchi with the sauce but you don't have to. You can add it later - just make sure you have enough butter in roasting pan before layering your beet leaf rolls.)

Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups whipping cream
8 small onions (such as chives)
2 handfuls of chopped fresh dill (this makes the whole dish)
2-4 large cloves of garlic, chopped fine

Melt butter in saucepan. Add onions (chives) garlic, dill and cream. Let it come to a boil and then turn down the heat. Katbaro cooks the holopchi with the sauce but you don't have to. You can add it later - just make sure you have enough butter in roasting pan before layering your beet leaf rolls.