Pizza Piroshki

Piroshki—baked or fried stuffed buns—are originally from Russia and Ukraine, and some version of them can be found across most of Central and Eastern Europe. This recipe is inspired by Nana Milena from the Serbian side of my family. She usually makes hers with ham and cheese, but when her grandkids remember to buy her favorite brand of cigarettes, she fries up a pizza variation as edible thanks. Plush and pillowy with the lilting tang of sour cream, this dough is forgiving and easily shaped by hand to flex around a sizable scoop of cheesy insides. Frying doesn’t have to be daunting, as these piroshki prove. A modest half-inch of oil and a pair of tongs turns these puppies into glistening, golden ovals that are faintly crunchy on the outside and soft and puffy within. Your oven could never. Try Cheesy Spinach and Corn Piroshki next.