Tatar Zur-Belish Pie with Duck

Take 1 kg of flour and add 500 g of butter at room temperature, cut into pieces. A large amount of butter is needed so that the dough does not dry out during long cooking. Mix in a mixer for about 5 minutes until it reaches a wet sand consistency.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt and ice water gradually until the ingredients bind together. Mix for another 2 minutes — prolonged mixing will make the dough elastic, which is undesirable.

Shape the dough into a hemisphere and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Cut 1.5–2 kg of potatoes into large cubes. Zur-belish is a stew where you should feel the texture of the potatoes. In 2 hours in the oven, small pieces will turn into mush.

Cut 1.5–2 kg of onions into cubes with 1 cm edges. After cooking, the onions will practically dissolve, leaving a fragrant broth — the main feature of this dish.

Cut the duck into large pieces of roughly equal size. Keep the bones — they will give flavor. Divide the legs into drumsticks and thighs, don't discard the parson's nose (it has plenty of fat). Cut off the breast and divide it in half, cut off the wings. Use the fat and skin too — the whole duck should go into the filling.

Mix the duck pieces, onion, and potatoes. Salt to approximately 2% of the filling weight. Generously add ground black pepper — there are no other spices in belyash. Mix well and let the filling rest for a bit.

Remove the dough and divide it into two unequal parts: 2/3 for the bottom, 1/3 for the top. Roll out the larger piece to a thickness of 1 cm. This thickness is needed so that the bottom layer of dough is soaked with juice and a crispy crust is formed.

Generously grease the baking dish with butter (you can also use duck or goose fat). Spread the dough so that it covers the bottom and sides. The dish can be any shape, although a round one is traditionally used.

Spread the filling into the form. On top, arrange 300 g of butter cut into pieces.

Roll out the remaining dough and cover the pie with it. Trim the dough along the edges of the pan and crimp the edges, sealing the pie hermetically.

Roll a ball from the dough scraps — this will be a vent. Make a hole in the center of the pie and plug it with the ball. The vent will allow excess steam to escape and prevent the pie from puffing up.

Place the pie in an oven preheated to 160 °C for 2 hours. At low temperature, the dough will be soft; at high temperature, it will burn. After 1 hour 20 minutes, check the pie: if the top starts to dry out, cover it with wet parchment paper.

When the pie is ready, remove it from the oven. Cut off the top layer of dough and divide it into four pieces with a knife. Arrange the filling with broth in deep bowls, add pieces of dough and eat, dipping the crispy pastry into the aromatic broth.