Pierogi Iii Recipes

HOMEMADE PIEROGI

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine flour and salt; cover and pulse to blend. Add water, eggs and butter; cover and pulse until dough forms a ball, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed. Let rest, covered, 15 to 30 minutes., Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions in butter until tender; set aside., Drain potatoes. Over very low heat, stir potatoes until steam has evaporated, 1-2 minutes. Press through a potato ricer or strainer into a large bowl. Stir in cream cheese, salt, pepper and onion mixture; set aside., Divide dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness; cut with a floured 3-in. biscuit cutter. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in center of each circle. Moisten edges with water; fold in half and press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bring a Dutch oven of water to a boil over high heat; add pierogi in batches. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until pierogi float to the top and are tender, 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. In a large skillet, saute 4 pierogi and onion in butter until pierogi are lightly browned and heated through; sprinkle with parsley. Repeat with remaining pierogi. Freeze option: Place cooled pierogi on waxed paper-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pans; freeze until firm. Transfer to an airtight freezer container; freeze up to 3 months. To use, for each serving, in a large skillet, saute 4 pierogi and 1/4 cup chopped onion in 1 tablespoon butter until pierogi are lightly browned and heated through; sprinkle with minced fresh parsley.

PIEROGI (POLISH DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• To prepare the sauerkraut filling, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the drained sauerkraut and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then remove to a plate to cool.
• For the mashed potato filling, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir into the mashed potatoes, and season with salt and white pepper.
• To make the dough, beat together the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder; stir into the sour cream mixture until dough comes together. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until firm and smooth. Divide the dough in half, then roll out one half to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch rounds using a biscuit cutter.
• Place a small spoonful of the mashed potato filling into the center of each round. Moisten the edges with water, fold over, and press together with a fork to seal. Repeat procedure with the remaining dough and the sauerkraut filling.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add perogies and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until pierogi float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon.

TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN PEROGIES

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Cook in boiling water until soft enough to mash.
• Drain well, reserving 2 cups of potato water for dough.
• Return potatoes to the pot and add grated cheese and sautéed onion. Mash until smooth. Let filling cool while making the dough.
• In a large bowl, sift flour and combine with salt.
• Mix together water, oil and egg, and pour half of mixture into flour. Mix and slowly add the remaining liquid. Knead by hand until flour and liquid are well combined, into an elastic ball. You may need to add a small amount of either flour or water, depending on the consistency of the dough.
• When well blended and smooth, wrap in plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag and let dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Cut dough in half or in thirds, keeping unused dough well wrapped in plastic until needed. Flour the table or counter lightly and roll dough to about 1/8 inch thickness (thin is best, but not too thin, as you don't want the dough to break as you fill your perogy).
• Cut the dough in rounds using a biscuit cutter or a small drinking glass (upside down).
• Scoop about 1 Tbsp of potato filling for each perogy and roll into a ball in the palms of your hands.
• Fill each round of dough with a ball of potato filling and seal the edges of the dough together with your fingers. Make sure when pinching the edges to ensure there are no gaps or that the 2 sides of the dough do not pull away from each other. Wet you fingers just a little if needed to help dough stick together.
• Freeze on a baking tray and then transfer to a freezer bag if making in advance.
• To cook, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook in small batches (10-15 perogies at a time), stirring gently to prevent dumplings from sticking together. Perogies are finished cooking when they float to the top.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove them from water and drain before transferring to a serving bowl. Toss with butter and serve hot with sour cream. Add fried onions and.or bacon bits to take your perogies to the next level!

PIEROGI RUSKIE: POTATO-CHEESE PIEROGI

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Parboil the potatoes in a large saucepan by covering them with cold water and adding 1 tablespoon of salt.
• Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain and let cool slightly.
• While the potatoes are parboiling, place the butter in a small pan, add the onion, and sauté over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Peel the cooked potatoes, place them in a large bowl, and mash them with a fork or potato ricer .
• Add the sautéed onion and farmer cheese to the potatoes and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Place 2 cups of flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center.
• Break the egg into it, then add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of lukewarm water, a little at a time.
• Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding the remaining flour or water as needed to form a smooth dough ball.
• Divide the dough in half and cover it with a bowl or towel. Let it rest 20 minutes.
• Assemble the pierogi on a floured work surface by rolling out the dough to 1/8 inch in thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, make small circles.
• Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling onto the middle of each circle.
• Fold the dough in half to form a half-circle shape and then firmly pinch the edges together.
• Sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and place the filled pierogi on it in a single layer. Keep the formed pierogi under a clean kitchen towel to stop them from drying.
• Gather scraps, reroll, and fill until you've used all of the first half of the dough. Repeat the process with the remaining half of dough.
• Cook the pierogi by bringing a large, low saucepan of salted water to a rapid boil. Depending on the size of your pot, drop in about 6 to 10 pierogi at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Return the water to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few more minutes. It should take around 5 to 6 minutes for the pierogi to be cooked.
• With a slotted spoon taste one, and if done, remove the remaining pierogi to a platter greased with some of the butter for serving. This will prevent the pierogi from sticking to each other.
• Serve warm with caramelized onions , skwarki, or crispy bits of bacon and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy.

PIEROGI

Steps:

• Make a well from the flour. Add eggs and about 1/2 cup of water. The amount of water will vary according to the weather. You want to make a stiff dough. Divide it into 3 equal portions and knead until silky smooth.
• Fillings: We usually make cheese and kapusta (sauerkraut), but you can use meat, potatoes, or even fruit.
• Saute onion in butter until just soft. Add kapusta and brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow time for the filling to cool before assembling pierogi, otherwise they will fall apart when cooked. If making more than one filling, this one can cool while you prepare the others.
• Mix well.
• To assemble and cook pierogi: Roll out a portion (or half portion, if space is limited) of the dough on a floured surface as thinly as possible -- somewhere between a wonton and a thin pizza. Put about a tablespoon of filling on the dough and use a large plastic cup (a big gulp-type cup works really well) to cut a circle around the filling. Dampen half of the circumference of the circle with a bit of water on your finger and fold into a dumpling. Boil the dumplings a dozen at a time in a big pot of salted water until they float -- no more than 3 minutes. At this point you can freeze them in bags for later use. To prepare for serving, brown the pierogi in a skillet using a bit of butter. If you want to be really traditional you can use bacon grease. Alternately, you can bake them in a casserole, spraying both the casserole and the pierogi with a butter flavored spray, and putting a few pats of butter on top of the dumplings.

PIEROGI

Steps:

• On a clean work surface, place all of the 7½ cups of flour into a pile. Stir in salt then make a valley in the center of the flour. Crack both eggs into center along with sour cream. With a fork, start stirring the eggs and sour cream into the flour pulling the edges toward the center. Then gradually add the water a little at a time as you continue to stir with a fork. You may not use all of the water so after 2 cups check texture and slowly incorporate another half cup of water. (Our dough was a perfect consistency at 2½ cups and we did not use the remaining ½ cup.) The texture should be soft and sticky to the touch.
• (A scraper like this is helpful for this next step so you can scrape and mold the dough as it is floured and rolled.) Sprinkle flour over the top of the dough ball and surrounding counter and with the scraper (or a flat spatula if you don't have one), scrape dough from counter over onto floured surface and continue this process adding flour as needed until you have a soft, pliable easy-to-handle dough that does not stick to the rolling pin.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough mass out to 1/16th inch thin. If you roll it out any thicker, your yield will be less than 100.
• As you roll, keep flouring the counter under the dough so when it is completely rolled out, none of the dough mass sticks to your counter.
• Using a 3 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, dip the cutter in flour if needed then cut out the circles as close to each other as possible. After filling this batch, gather up the scraps and roll back out and cut more circles. Finally roll up the last of the scraps and cut one last time. The dough is soft enough to get rolled out three times but no more. Also try to keep the dough covered with a slightly damp cloth to keep the dough from drying out.
• The final count should be approximately 100 circles. See last step for filling, boiling and frying.
• Boil potatoes in salted water for 5-10 minutes until tender, then drain and place back into the pan. Heat over medium just long enough to evaporate any liquid left in the pan and to dry out the potatoes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• In the same pan, melt butter over medium heat and add onion, salt and pepper and cook 3-5 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and add parsley and potatoes and using a potato masher, mash mixture to somewhat fine. Stir in cheddar cheese and set mixture aside. If not filling right away, refrigerate until needed.
• In a medium sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat and add mushroom and onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender. Add drained sauerkraut, salt and pepper. Stir and remove from heat. If not filling right away, refrigerate until needed.
• In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter and add onions. Cook 3-5 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in Farmer's cheese and mix to combine. Stir in egg, parsley, salt and pepper and stir again. If not filling right away, refrigerate until needed.
• Note: This is more of a dessert filling and can be served a few different ways. But the traditional way is, once cooked, serve with buttered and toasted plain bread crumbs.
• In a small sauce pan place dried prunes and water just to cover tops. Add sugar and lemon and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook two minutes. Remove from heat and let the prunes sit in the hot water for ten minutes. Drain liquid and discard. Place cooked prunes in a blender or small food processor (like this one) and puree until smooth. If not filling right away, refrigerate until needed. Brown the ¼ cup of bread crumbs in the one tablespoon of butter over medium heat until slightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside for serving.
• Each pierogi gets filled and cooked the same. As noted above, the prune pierogi are served with toasted bread crumbs as a dessert and the other three fillings served with grilled onions and sour cream as an entrée or side dish.
• To fill each pierogi, follow the recipe for the filling and divide the filling between that number of circles.
• Place the filling (between ¾ and 1 ounce depending on the filling type) in the center spreading it out into the shape of an oval. Have a small cup of water close by and with a pastry brush, lightly wet the outside of the circle half way around. Then lift the dough circle in your hand and pull the edge of the dry side to the edge of the wet side together in the center and pinch tight. Then work from the center out and pinch the rest closed, poking any filling back in as you go. Set the finished pierogi on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
• Place a medium to large pot of water on to boil as you finish the remaining pierogi. Have a large sauté pan on a burner with the melted butter on medium low.
• Once you have made as many as you plan on making, place about ten at a time into the boiling water (checking to make sure that they haven't stuck to the bottom of the pot) and boil until they float (about 2-3 minutes). Then cook for an additional minute and remove with a strainer. Immediately add to pan with melted butter. All you are doing with this step is coating them in butter so they don't stick to each other. Toss in the pan of butter for about 30 seconds and remove to a platter. Repeat for all of the pierogi you intend to cook.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter and add onions and cook for about 4-5 minutes until slightly browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• Using the same pan over medium heat, melt butter and add cooked pierogi. Cook flipping occasionally until browned on both sides, about 5-8 minutes.
• Serve savory pierogi with sour cream and sautéed onions. Serve prune pierogi with buttered, toasted bread crumbs.

PIEROGI

Steps:

• While the potatoes are cooking, saute the onions in a fry pan using a little butter and some of the drippings from the bacon. You want the onions to brown and caramelized.
• Drain water from the cooked potatoes and use a potato masher to mash them. Add the cheddar cheese, cream cheese. Then, mix together until the cheese is fully melted and set aside until cooled. Once cooled, form the cheese and potato mixture into 1/2 to 2 inch balls.
• While the potato mixture is cooling begin to make the dough. In a mixing bowl, add the flour, eggs, salt, and sour cream. Using a fork, stir the ingredients together. You will want to use your hands at some point to fully incorporate the ingredients.
• The dough should start to come together. If it does not, add a little more sour cream or a little milk. Once it begins to come together, place on a floured surface and kneed the dough until it comes completely together.
• Wrap the dough in some plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
• Next, take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface until the dough is approximately 1/8 of an inch. (Don't get too caught up in the thickness. You want it to be workable and not too thin that the dough will puncture when you are filling it.)
• FYI: Dough should be somewhat elastic while you are rolling it out. This means that it should spring back as you are rolling it out into a circle.
• Use a drinking glass to cut circles out of the dough. Place your filing ball in the center of the dough and Fold the dough over the filling. You will need to stretch the dough over to seal. Using your fingers, pinch the dough closed.
• If the dough does not seal, wet your finger and run your finger on the edge of the dough. This should act as a "glue" to seal your dough. You can also use a back of a fork to help seal your edges. This gives the Pierogi a very nice look.
• Your finished Pierogi will have a semi-circle appearance. Set aside and continue to make the rest of your Pierogi.
• Fill a stock pot with salted water and bring to a boil and then add a few Pierogi at a time. Allow Pierogi to cook in the boiling water until the Pierogi float to the top. This will take a few minutes. Remove from water and place on a cooling rack to drain and cool. Continue this process until done with all Pierogi.
• When ready to eat, fry in butter in a pan over medium heat until Pierogi are golden brown on both sides. Serve with sour cream and chopped green onion stems (optional)

PIEROGI III

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving bacon grease, crumble and set aside.
• In medium bowl, combine sauerkraut, onion powder, crumbled bacon and bacon grease. Stir well; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat together 3 eggs, half-and-half, salt, milk and 1/4 cup butter with electric mixer. Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rest 5 minutes in a warm place. Grease hands and dough with butter, and knead on a floured surface 10 minutes. Divide dough into 4 sections, and grease each with butter to prevent drying out.
• Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter; beat remaining egg, combine egg and butter, and set aside. Roll out a section of dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out 4 inch circles with round cutter or glass. Place one tablespoon sauerkraut filling in the center of each circle, brush the edges of the circle with the butter and egg mixture, fold in half and press edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining sections of dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pierogi for 5 minutes, or until they float to the top.

PIEROGI III

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving bacon grease, crumble and set aside.
• In medium bowl, combine sauerkraut, onion powder, crumbled bacon and bacon grease. Stir well; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat together 3 eggs, half-and-half, salt, milk and 1/4 cup butter with electric mixer. Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rest 5 minutes in a warm place. Grease hands and dough with butter, and knead on a floured surface 10 minutes. Divide dough into 4 sections, and grease each with butter to prevent drying out.
• Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter; beat remaining egg, combine egg and butter, and set aside. Roll out a section of dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out 4 inch circles with round cutter or glass. Place one tablespoon sauerkraut filling in the center of each circle, brush the edges of the circle with the butter and egg mixture, fold in half and press edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining sections of dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pierogi for 5 minutes, or until they float to the top.