Pagachi Recipe

Above is the instructional video on how to make Pagachi, that pizza/calzone type slovak dish with cabbage in the middle. Below are the instructions exactly as we made it in the video. No need to adjust the portions unless you're not a fan of extra cabbage.

Cabbage Filling

Ingredients

1 - 5 pound head of cabbage

½ Medium Onion Chopped

2 Tablespoon Salt

½ Cup of Butter

Dash of Pepper

Directions

·         Chop cabbage fine in a food processor, add salt, mix and let stand for 30 minutes.

·         Squeeze all of the juice out of the chopped cabbage. Repeat.

·         Using medium heat - Melt Butter in a large sturdy pan.

·         Add Chopped Onion and stir until translucent

·         Add Chopped Cabbage (all at once), and dash of pepper

·         Cook for at least 35 minutes, stirring almost constantly until cabbage is a light brown.

·         Set aside to cool.

Raised Dough

The recipe will make enough dough for 3-4 Pagachi

Ingredients

1 Dry Yeast Packet

1/2 Tablespoon Sugar

1.5 Cups Milk

2 Egg yolks

1 Tablespoons Melted Butter

3 Cups Flour for mixture (have another 1-2 cups on hand for kneading and rolling)

Directions

·         Mix the yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk

o   Let Stand

·         Mix Egg Yolks and Melted Butter

·         Add Egg Yolks and Butter Mixture to Milk Mixture

·         Place the combined liquid into a large bowl

·         Slowly add flour to liquid mixture

·         Blend/Mix using a wooden spoon

·         Let Stand (covered with light weight towel) in a warm place to rise for 1 hour

·         Adding a little flour at a time, knead the dough in the bowl until it is “workable”, no longer real sticky

Pagachi Assembly/Cooking

Directions

·         Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

·         Place 2 racks in oven

o   One rack placed on the bottom-most level (or second bottom most)

o   One rack placed on the top-most level (or second top most)

·         Split the dough into thirds or fourths

o   Work with, and Bake one Pagachi at a time.

·         Put one portion on a well-floured wooden pastry board, work and roll the dough into a circle

o   You will need to continue to add flour to roll the dough

o   Don’t be concerned about the amount of added flour

·         Spread Cabbage Filling on half of the circle

·         Fold the dough over the Cabbage Filling

o   It will look like a Calzone

·         Close the edges by pinching/pressing closed

·         Prick top of Pagachi with fork to allow steam to escape

·         Place Pagachi on ungreased cookie sheet on LOWEST Rack for 8 minutes

·         Then move cookie sheet to TOP Rack for 6 additional minutes or until a dark golden brown

·         Remove and cool on a cooling rack

·         Repeat for the remaining pagachi

·         Once cooled, the pagachi can be put into 2 Gallon Plastic Bags and Frozen until served

Serving the Pagachi

Ingredients

Butter

Salt

Pagachi (If frozen, take out of freezer and allow to thaw in refrigerator)

Directions

·         Melt Butter in a pan until a golden brown (slightly burnt)

·         Heat Pagachi in 350 degree oven

·         Take out the Pagachi, liberally brush butter on top and salt to taste.

·         Cut into smaller pieces, using a pizza cutter

ENJOY!