Cabbage Pie (Russian)

Russian Cabbage Pie is one of the best culinary creations this country can offer. Rich and buttery crust featuring a secret ingredient (sour cream) filled to the brim with a classic Russian mixture of braised cabbage and boiled eggs. Perfection. Did you know that Russia is the world's largest cabbage consuming country? It's true. The average person in Russia consumes 20 kg of cabbage every year. Russians are crazy about this leafy vegetable and have been for hundreds of years. Russia is also among the top three cabbage producers in the world, behind only China and India with over 3 million tons of it grown each year. Maybe that's why Russian cuisine has so many amazing cabbage recipes.

Dough:
⅔ cup butter, cold and cubed (150 g)
2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached (300 g)
1 pinch sea salt
3.5 oz sour cream (100 g)
1 egg
1 egg yolk, for brushing

Filling:
1 lb fresh cabbage (450 g)
4 eggs
sea salt
oil
¼ cup butter (55 g)

Put the butter, flour, and salt in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Transfer to a bowl and add the sour cream and egg. Stir until everything is combined and you get the dough. Form to a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, hard boil the eggs for the filling and chop them. Thinly slice the cabbage and add some salt to taste.

In a large pan, heat the oil and butter and cook the cabbage for 3-5 minutes. Put a lid on and cook for 10 minutes or more until it’s soft. The cooking time depends on the toughness of the cabbage. Let cool and combine with the hard-boiled eggs.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Lightly grease the round 9" baking pan (I used a tart pan) with butter.

Divide the dough into two parts: one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger part on a lightly floured surface and line the pan. Trim the excess dough from the edges. Roll out the smaller dough part and cut into even strips.

Add the cabbage and egg filling to the dough-lined pan and top with the dough strips to form a lattice. Gently press both ends of the strips into crust edges to keep their shape when baking.

Lightly beat the egg yolk with a small pinch of salt and brush the strips. Bake 40-45 minutes.

Makes 10 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 288kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 7.1g, Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 132.3mg, Sodium: 75.4mg, Sugar: 1.9g, Vitamin A: 900IU, Vitamin C: 23.1mg