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BAKED PASTRIES FILLED WITH WILD FOREST MUSHROOMS; KIBINAI & MUSHROOMS, LITHUANIA, Baltic States

Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushrooms

Eggs, Flour

Eggs, Flour

Butter, Sour Cream

Butter, Sour Cream

Mushrooms, Onion, Salt, Ground Pepper

Mushrooms, Onion, Salt, Ground Pepper

Ingredients

Wild Mushrooms – 600 grams (2 packages)

White Button Mushrooms – 6 medium size

Sweet Onion – ½ large size

Olive Oil – 3 tablespoons

Flour – 325 grams

Unsalted Butter – 100 grams

Eggs – 3 whole eggs

Sour Cream – 150 grams

Ground Black Pepper – ½ teaspoon

Sea Salt – 1 ½ teaspoon

Kibinai – Lithuania is a beautiful European country situated along the Baltic Sea.  Different minority groups reside in Lithuania, impacting the country’s culture and cuisine.  The Karaites, a religious minority, settled in Trakai in Lithuania long time ago.  Trakai, a charming town near Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius, enchants visitors with the Trakai Island Castle and the delicious Karaites cuisine.  Kibinai are savory pastries, traditionally filled with different types of meat with onions, or other tasty fillings.  The pastry dough is made with flour, butter, eggs and sour cream.  Kibinai stuffed with mushrooms ideally balances the subtle pastry flavor with the strong taste of wild mushrooms.  The wild mushrooms are a highly nutritious food source and an essential ingredient in the Eastern European cuisines.  Many species of mushrooms grow in the forests of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, differing in size, shape, color and flavor.  Every autumn, entire families venture to the forest to pick wild mushrooms, teaching their young children how to distinguish the edible mushrooms from the poisonous fungi.  I always remember the sweet scent of the forest early in the morning while searching for mushrooms hidden underneath the moss.  In our recipe, we use frozen Wild Boletus Mushrooms imported from Russia, and fresh white button mushrooms cultivated in the United States.  Our Kibinai with Mushrooms recipe preserves our culinary memories from our visit to Trakai.

Dough

Dough

Mushroom Stuffing

Mushroom Stuffing

Making Kibinai

Making Kibinai

Kibinai with Mushrooms

Kibinai with Mushrooms

Preparation Method

Step 1 – Combine the flour with the soft butter and use your hands to incorporate the ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk 2 whole eggs, add the sour cream and then continue whisking.  Add the eggs mixture and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour and knead the dough.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for a few hours.    

Step 2 – Defrost the wild mushrooms, squeeze the water out and mix the mushrooms briefly in a blender.  Chop finely the onion and the white button mushrooms.  Sauté the onion for a few minutes, and then add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of salt and ground pepper, and sauté for 10 minutes, mixing frequently.   

Step 3 – Cut the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into 15-inch circles.  Place an equal amount of mushroom stuffing on each circle, form crescent shaped pastries and fold the edges into a decorative braid.     

Step 4 – Place the pastries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Whisk 1 whole egg, brush the pastries with the egg and bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.     

Step 5 – Enjoy the strong taste of wild mushrooms!