Rules to Bending the Rules

Even Veronian rules couldn't bar Romeo from Juliet  

During all my years of compulsory education (eons ago), my primary motto was to frequently play hooky, the secondary to find occasions where I could bend the school rules. Back then I never believed in being a blind follower of institutional codes of conduct. The ones, and they were few and far between, I’d toe the line had better make better sense than common sense.  

And it’s the rule I apply when I study a recipe. So I fail to understand why the Jewish heritage of preparing piroshki needs me to first separately chop up the onions, salmon and mushrooms in butter. Nor for what comes after: separately pan fry these ingredients. Or even the next two steps that follow that: deglaze the pan with cream and mix what’s been deglazed from the pan up with the cooked ingredients. And have teaspoon-sized portions of this mixture wrapped in dough for baking in the oven.

Wouldn’t a smooth paste resulting from pureeing the raw onions, mushrooms and salmon together lend an evenly intertwined sensation to the palate? And wouldn’t you be able to maintain this smooth even texture by folding into the raw mince the double cream and melted butter? And wouldn’t enveloping fresh wanton skins over spoonfuls of the final mixture ensure the mince gets thoroughly cooked at the same quick time it would take the skins to crisp up when deep fried?   

And the only additional rule I’d have applied to breaking away from Jewish traditions is the realization that the Chinese heritage of preparing dim sums successfully ensures that I’d only have to cook all the fresh ingredients once, whether deep fried, pan fried or steamed.