Dough dishes
small ear-shaped dumplings or sweet fried pastries
variant tradition
Flour dough, mushroom filling, small dumplings, Christmas Eve table, sweet žagarėliai-style auselės
Ausytės, Mushroom auselės, Small virtinukai
Why Are Auselės Confusing?
Auselės are not one strictly standardized dish. The name is based on shape: a small dough piece resembles an ear.
Some Lithuanian recipes use this name for sweet fried pastries close to žagarėliai. But beside koldūnai and virtiniai, it makes sense to discuss small filled dumplings.
Mushroom Auselės
Mushroom auselės fit especially well in the context of fasting, Kūčios, or winter soups. Dried mushrooms give a strong aroma, so the filling needs few additions. According to culinary heritage overviews, auselės are small dumplings filled with mushrooms, resembling little piglet ears; they suit the Kūčios table and were traditionally served in beet kvass.
In Lithuanian fasting cooking, dried wild mushrooms often replace the richness of meat. Small mushroom auselės are therefore a logical continuation of the same mushroom, dumpling, and soup tradition, even though the name is not used uniformly.
They can be served on their own with butter, but they also work very well in a clear mushroom or beet soup.
Sweet Auselės
Sweet auselės are usually thin dough pastries fried in oil and dusted with powdered sugar. In that case they are close to the žagarėliai tradition.
So when writing or searching for a recipe, it matters to specify whether auselės means dumplings or fried pastries.
Shape and Size
Auselės should be small. A large piece already feels more like a regular dumpling than an auselė.
Sealing the edges tightly is important, because mushroom filling can easily spill out during boiling if the dough is not well closed.
Recipe
How are auselės made?
Mushroom auselės are made like small dumplings: thin dough, a strong dried-mushroom filling, and a tightly sealed ear shape. They can be served with butter or added to a clear soup.
Ingredients
- 300 g wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 130-160 ml water
- 30 g dried wild mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp butter or oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Soak the dried mushrooms, boil them, and chop finely. The cooking liquid can be saved for soup.
- Fry the onion in butter, mix with the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Let the filling cool.
- Knead a dough from flour, egg, water, and salt. Let it rest.
- Roll thinly, cut small circles, add a little filling, fold, and join the corners into an ear shape.
- Boil in salted water or soup until they rise, then cook a few minutes more.
Notes
Auselės should be small, so use less filling than for ordinary dumplings.
If you are looking for sweet auselės, their dough and frying method are closer to žagarėliai.
