The taste of pierogi is still on my mind as I’ve returned from the Polish Festival in Riverhead, New York. That thought brings me back to my Grandfather who made the stuffed dumplings by the hundreds when I was a child.
I had a Polish Grandfather, but if he were Italian, the method for making ravioli would be the same as pierogi, just the filling changes.
In fact, I consider them “Slavic Ravioli”, because instead of ricotta cheese, pierogi are stuffed with mashed potatoes, onions, sour cream and cheeses. It’s a traditional Polish dish that’s served with sour cream or apple sauce on the side. I prefer the sour cream, but the apple sauce does give a very nice sweet/savory contrast in your mouth.
The process is quite simple and fun. Once you’ve made a basic dough, the act of filling them can be a family project. Kids love to stuff the dumplings and seal them around the edges.
Dough Formula:
Pinch of Salt
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Egg
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup softened butter
Mix these ingredients together with the dough hook on your electric mixer to a smooth dough.
Filling Formula:
2 Pounds of potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 ounces diced onion
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Simmer the potatoes until they are crushable under a fork.
Whip all the ingredients together and chill for later filling.
Roll out the dough into thin sheets and cut rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter.
Wash each round of dough with egg to that they seal correctly.
Portion filling onto each round and pinch to seal all edges.
Now that we’ve created pierogi with just a few simple ingredients, it makes me think of the same procedure my Grandfather would complete to make the very same potato pillows. It’s the simplicity of this Polish treat that makes them so appealing.
How do you cook pierogi? I’d like you to tell me. Please leave a comment below with how you’d complete the final preparation step. Would you simmer them like pasta? Would you steam them like dumplings? Would you bake them like enchiladas? Would you sauté them like tortellini?
Pierogi are so much fun to make, are wonderfully delicious, and give you a wide variety of ways to prepare them for any meal of the day.
Tags: pierogi
Leave A Reply (18 comments So Far)
Pierogi
540 days ago
Making Pierogi is tough! Rolling out the dough can take forever and be hard on your hands. I would know, I make Pierogi for a living at old world eats!
Rebecca Haughn
624 days ago
I would bake them. Then being done I would have the option of reheating in some fashion (hmmm in butter, yum) if I made alot and not all of them got eaten. Sour cream is hubby’s choice though applesauce would also be available. Thanks for sharing.
Patrick
624 days ago
I might try them, like I make Chinese/Japanese Gyoza (pot stickers). I cook them in a fry pan with a little bit of oil on 3 sides till golden brown, then stir in water and corn starch mix to finish with a “steam”. About the only difference I can see is the stuffing. (nice place to be creative
I’ll give these a go,…what would you use as a dip, or a sauce/gravy?
Thanks CT!
ChefTodd
623 days ago
Hey Patrick!
Yes! That’s the way I see it. Gyoza is no different from Ravioli, from Pieorgi. Every culture stuffs something into an unleavened dough.
What I think is exciting is the discussion of all the ways you can improvise on this theme once you have the confidence to do so.
You can even make dessert pieorgi or empanadas. THATS the fun of cooking!
Off the top of my head…if I had to invent a new dipping sauce for pieorgi…perhaps a mushroom sauce or sour cream and chives. In the simpliest, Ranch dressing goes well.
Boston Kathy
624 days ago
Chef Todd,
My Polish Grandmother taught us to boil them in salted water till they float to the surface however, I like to steam them, then pan fry in garlic butter with a fresh sage leafs till they are nice and brown – Yummy!
ChefTodd
623 days ago
Hey Kathy!
MMMMmmmmm! Garlic butter and fresh sage. I can almost smell them from here.
Nice inspiration!
Don
624 days ago
The boil then pan fry method is the favorite here. It gives the most popular consistency. As far as the desert idea goes, if you have ever tried Huckleberries you would say that they are to die for! Definitely the Cabernet of the berry world.
Only one small problem…. getting your hands on some. I use a friend in Montana who sends them to me. My kids loved them so much in pancakes by golly I believe I will have to try Philip’s idea with the next batch. Thanks Philip!
ChefTodd
623 days ago
Thanks for taking the discussion in a very creative direction, Don.
I love the improvisation of Huckleberries in dough!
I had a client in my catering company that was from Sweden. They always insisted on Lingonberry pancakes. It’s a Scandanavian thing.
If you can’t find Huckleberries, try the Lingonberries, you’ll enjoy them.
WILLIAM BRUNING
624 days ago
can I get a complete list of the no recipe episodes so that I can reference then when I want to recall a specific episode?
ChefTodd
624 days ago
Hey William!
Since the episodes are numbered, it would be quite easy to reference what you’d like to see.
Just click the “episodes” button on the top of the webpage, and you’ll get a chronological listing of all the NoRecipeLifestyle episodes.
David
625 days ago
Put in boiling water till they float to the top. Then ganish what ever sounds good to you
ChefTodd
625 days ago
Sometimes the simplest preparation is the best!
Sonia Santos
627 days ago
Hi, I just finished to eat my pierogi and loved! I simmer them like pasta in boilled water with salt.
The dough was just wonderful to work, and for the filling i decided to join to your formula some left over of chicken that i had in the frige. I served with a sauce (home made ketchup with a slice of cheese) and a simple salad. Just perfect;)
ChefTodd
627 days ago
That sounds great, Sonia!
After simmering the dumplings in liquid, sometimes I’ll then give them a quick saute in butter to give a nice brown color.
Phillip Barry Mcgeough
629 days ago
We used to boil the perogies in hot water, then fry them with a little oil and onion.
There was a restaurant that used to deep fry them and they were very good. You can fry them in a pan and not bother to boil them, We would fry some onion and bacon chips to cover them as a garnish and eat them with sour cream after covering them with the bacon bit and onion saute’.
The deep fried ones were twice as large as the commercial variety and were delicious when served with melted butter and bacon and onions , using sour cream as a garnish.
Filling the pastry with blueberries made a nice dessert. Filling them with a spiced hamburger or a creamy mushroom mix with cheese made a nice step up change!!
Always fun and delicious.
ChefTodd
627 days ago
Now we’re cooking! I am so pleased when you can take a single idea and expand upon it.
Yes! Once you can make pierogie, then your imagination takes you to blueberries or spicy hamburger!
That’s the fun of cooking!
Thanks Phillip!