USA: Nebraska - Runza

 

This bread pocket filled with minced beef and cabbage dates back to German settlers in the state of Nebraska who made bierocks which are very similar to modern Runzas. Sally Everett is credited with inventing the name in 1949 when she founded a restaurant of the same name. Runza sandwiches are very popular there being sold at football games as a handy handheld food as well as the chain on Runza restaurants all over the state.

Ingredients:

Dough:

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

Filling:

2lbs minced beef

1 onion

4 cups cabbage

salt & pepper

cheese slices (optional)

Mix 3/4 cup flour with the yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Heat the butter, milk and water in a pan until the butter is melted and the temperature is 48-55 C.

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry in the bowl and stir well.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Slowly add the remaining flour a bit at a time stirring well to make sure it's well incorporated each time. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and elastic feeling.

Cover the dough and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Saute the chopped onion and minced beef in a pan until the beef is not pink.

Chop the cabbage and add to the pan. Saute until the cabbage is soft and season with salt & pepper.

Punch down the dough and split into 12 pieces.

Roll out each piece into a large square.

Put down a square of cheese if you want cheese runzas and then top with the filling. Fold over and seal with a bit of cold water.

Place on a lined or greased oven tray and cook for 18-20 minutes at 175 C.

We ate ours with a ramekin of gravy for dipping.

JD and I had ours with cheese but Val preferred his cheese-less. Despite our differences, we all enjoyed them immensely. They were quite simple to make and worked out perfectly. The dough was light but held together well so you could eat without them breaking apart. The filling was hot and tasty and stayed in place somehow so they weren't messy to eat. I thought they might be a bit dry on their own (hence the gravy) but I was wrong. The filling, especially with melted cheese, was moist enough to not leave you with a dry mouth when eating. Overall, very nice and we'd definitely have these again. We ate our Runzas for lunch but they'd make a great meal with mash and peas too.