Have you ever heard of a Pelmeni or a Vareniki? Some readers might know exactly what they are. Up until recently I have never heard either of those words.
A Pelmeni is similar to Italian tortellini and a Vareniki is a crescent-shaped ravioli. They are Russian foods.
I’ve never had them before, but they do sound good.
A company called Popkoffs makes authentic Pelmeni and Vareniki that go from frozen to cooked in 5 minutes.
According to the brand:
Pelmeni are filled with chicken, beef or cheese and Vareniki are filled with potato and onion or cabbage and carrot. Popkoff’s uses the highest-quality ingredients to make the best-tasting and cleanest products possible: non-GMO King Arthur Flour; Mary’s Free Range Chicken, which is air-chilled and free from antibiotics and steroids; and Meyer Natural Angus Beef, which is free from antibiotics and steroids. They’re made with 100% all-natural ingredients and completely free of preservatives, artificial flavors or colors, soy, or fillers.
Mmm… I just had to try them.
Popkoffs sent me a variety of products to sample with my family. They arrived frozen so I popped them in my freezer until I was ready to make them.
They truly do look like little ravioli.
Preparing the Pelmeni or Vareniki are super easy. Simply boil water (you can add a pinch of salt if you want but it’s not needed), boil for the instructed time, drain the water and serve. You can top the products with butter, cheese sauce, marina, a drizzle of Olive oil or eat them plain/”as is.” It’s totally up to you. I preferred them with a little bit of butter.
I received to review Chicken, Beef and Farmer’s Cheese Palmeni and Potato & Onion Vareniki.
I LOVED the Potato & Onion Vareniki. They were like little mashed potato filled raviolis with touch of onion flavor. They were very good. I only had the one package for my family of four to try, so we each only had a few pieces. My whole family commented on how much they liked them and my kids asked me if I could get more.
The Farmer’s Cheese Palmeni are identical to a ravioli (or even a cheese filled tortellini). They are a delicious mixture of pasta and cheese. We also ate these with a touch of butter, but you could easily top this with marinara or your favorite pasta sauce.
The Chicken and Beef varieties of Palmeni were also good. I preferred the chicken over the beef. I’m not much of a beef eater to begin with.
Each variety I tasted seemed like they were freshly made. They didn’t taste bland or like they have been sitting in a freezer for months. Once cooked they were fresh and flavorful.
The packaging says that it contains two servings. If you were enjoying this as a side dish I can see them being two servings. As a main meal I don’t think it would be enough to fill up two adults unless you included a side salad and/or vegetables.
Admittedly I have eaten an entire package for lunch on more than one occasion. It left me completely full and satisfied. I didn’t need anything else to go with it.
I guess how you want to serve them is up to you (as an individual meal, a meal for two with side dishes or as a side dish).
Me and my family enjoyed all the flavors we were sent to review. I would certainly purchase them again (especially the Potato & Onion – YUMMY!).
Popkoffs products can be found at retailer around the country. You can visit the Store Locator section of their website to find a location near you. They seem to be mostly on the East Coast, West Coast, Florida and Chicago areas.
For more information about Popkoffs products visit Popkoffs.com. The brand is also on social media. You can find their links on the bottom right of the brand’s website.
If you visit the site you should check out the recipe section.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.