It's a rare and beautiful thing to find a ready-made dish that's not chock-full of flavourings, chemicals and additives but thanks to Olga Barbina you can now find pelmeni, or Russian dumplings, which are ready in three minutes from freezer to plate. I've never been a huge fan of pre-made meals but let's face it, there are some days when life is so busy it's impossible to whip up something even remotely edible from the contents of your pantry. The joy with this product is that the ingredients are just meat, flour, egg, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper - nothing else. Just like Russian grandmas have made for years.
These soft, pillowy packages of carnivorous heartiness definitely appeal to the Kiwi palate with that combination of meat and carbs we so love. But unlike pies and sausage rolls these are boiled (and probably slightly more nutritious!). They come in three flavours: lamb and beef, beef and pork, and chicken. The red meat varieties have a stronger flavour , but the chicken has its own, more subtle, appeal too.
Olga comes from Khabarovsk, close to China, and came here in 2007. She had always wanted to start up her own food business so took the move as an excuse to change career. Her dumplings are good old-fashioned Russian food. Similar to their Chinese counterparts but more like ravioli in the thickness of the outer layer - although it is much softer than ravioli and there's a lot more filling inside - these are meaty little numbers.
Olga says, "This is not gourmet food, it's just our everyday dumplings. We eat them as a main dish and the sauce you add is up to the individual. Some prefer a tomato sauce, some sour cream and pepper, some mustard and some like just butter and a bit of salt."
Make sure not to overboil them, just drop them in for two to four minutes. The meat is raw so you need to make sure it is cooked through but don't leave it too long in case it gets tough.
