Very proud of Italian cooking many times we forget the delicious traditional dishes of other cuisines. This time, however, we must remember Ukraine. Thanks to Lyubov ,who has been in Italy years and gave us this beautiful Ukrainian recipe. Cooking and eating together is the best way to build bridges among peoples.

The Sochniki are sweets stuffed with ricotta typical of Ukrainian cuisine and tradition. Delicious half-moons of puff pastry made with butter and flour, stuffed with a light cream of ricotta and lemon zest, baked in the oven and very easy to prepare. Initially Sochniki were prepared for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter but today you can find them all year round.

Servings for: 6 people

Ingredients

For the dough

00 Flour/all-purpose/plain flour        400g=3 1/4 cups

Butter at room temperature 120 g= 1/2 cup

Sugar 120g =1/2 cup             Egg 1          Fine salt a pinch=1/2 tsp.

 Fresh liquid cream100g =1/2 cup         Baking powder 8 gr.= 2 tsp.

For the Filling

Fresh Ricotta Cheese 200g=3/4 cup

00 Flour/all-purpose/plain flour        50g=1/2 cup

Sour cream /yogurt 40g=2 tbs.           Egg 1

Zest 1 lemon                               Sugar 50g=1/4 cup

Put the butter at room temperature in a bowl, add the sugar and start mixing

In a second bowl open an egg and beat it lightly.

Add the beaten egg to the butter and stir

 Add the fresh cream, a pinch of salt and little by little the flour together with the yeast

  Work with your hands until you get a homogeneous and elastic mixture

 Make a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour.

 In the meantime, dedicate yourself to the filling: drain the ricotta and pass it with a colander so as to eliminate excess milk

 Pour the ricotta into a bowl, add an egg white (keep the yolk), vanilla extract, a tablespoon of sifted flour, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest

 Work with a ladle all the ingredients until you get a creamy filling without lumps

 Take back your dough and roll it out with a rolling pin forming a sheet of about half a centimeter

 Form circles with the help of a cutter or simply a glass .Reuse the cutouts

Stuff each portion of the dough with two teaspoons of ricotta cream and close it without sealing the edges so that the filling can be seen

 Place your Sochniki on a oven  tray covered with a sheet of parchment paper, brush the surface with the egg yolk slightly beaten and cook at 200C°/400 F° for 20/25 minutes taking care not to let them darken on the surface

Serve the Sochniki with a sprinkling of icing sugar after letting them slightly cool.

Tips

Be careful to take the butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes before starting your recipe.

Choose a fresh cow’s milk ricotta and before mixing it with the other ingredients, filter it carefully to eliminate all excess liquids that could ruin your Sochniki.

Cook and share with friends and family.