Ukrainian Chicken Pie Kurnyk

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 onions, halved
• 1 stalk celery, halved
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups water
• 4 lbs chicken
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled (1/4 lb)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream (1/2 pint)
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 pint sour cream (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms, fried in butter
• 5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

Recipe

• 1 for the chicken: in a kettle combine the first 5 ingredients and boil for 15 minutes. add the chicken, cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 2 when the chicken is done, remove the meat and chop.
• 3 reserve 1 1/2 cups stock for the filling.
• 4 for the pastry: sift the flour with the baking powder onto a pastry board.
• 5 make a well in the center of the flour and add the butter.
• 6 using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the butter and flour together into a stiff granular dough that is the consistency of cornmeal.
• 7 mix the eggs, yolk, salt and sour cream together. add enough of the liquid until the liquid is absorbed and the dough holds together.
• 8 do not over-handle.
• 9 if the dough will not hold together, add a bit more of the egg and sour cream mixture.
• 10 quickly form the dough into a ball, wrap in a damp towel and chill for 1 hour.
• 11 blend 1 1/2 cups of the stock and the 1/2 cup of sour cream and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. remove from heat and blend in the parsley, nutmeg, lemon juice and the chopped chicken and salt to taste.
• 12 on a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch thickness and line a deep pie dish.
• 13 beginning and ending with a layer of rice, alternate a layer of the chicken mixture with a layer of the mushrooms and a layer of the chopped eggs and dill.
• 14 press down filling, then cover with the remaining pastry, crimping the edges to seal.
• 15 cut a 1-inch hole in the center, then brush lid with egg.
• 16 bake 15 minutes in a 400°f oven, then reduce heat to 350°f and bake until the kurnyk bubbles at the edges, about 30 minutes.
• 17 serve hot. serves 8.
• 18 larousse treasury of country cooking.