A friend of me, who is a chef, told me that russian ‘pelmeni’ and ‘varenki’ are cooked in the same way as italian ‘ravioli’ - except the edges is that true?

As far as I know, each pelmen’ or varenik is made seperately which takes pretty much time (unless you are an experienced pelmeni-maker). Unlike that, when you make ravioli you put small portions of filling upon one layer of dough (oh, and it must be square-shaped - that’s very important!) and then you cover it with another layer of dough, then you cut it along and across and - voila!

Ravioli can have other fillings apart from meat - like cheese, cottage-cheese, spinach etc. And Russian pelmeni must contain only MEAT inside. As for vareniki - yes, the fillings can be various, but again their edges are folded in a more simple way than those of ravioli.

medved - 04 September 2010 01:39 AM

oh, and it must be square-shaped - that’s very important!

Ravioli don’t necessarily must be square-shaped. It’s not so rigid, believe me.