Pierogi Traditional Polish Dumplings Recipes

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.

PIEROGIES

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Put flour in a large shallow bowl and make a well in center. Add water, egg, oil, and salt to well and carefully beat together with a fork without incorporating flour. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (dough will be very soft). Invert a bowl over dough and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Make filling while dough stands:
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth.
• When mashed potatoes are cool enough to handle, spoon out a rounded teaspoon and lightly roll into a ball between palms of your hands. Transfer ball to a plate and keep covered with plastic wrap while making 47 more balls in same manner (there will be a little filling left over).
• Make onion topping:
• Cook onion in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Form and cook pierogies:
• Halve dough and roll out 1 half (keep remaining half under inverted bowl) on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured cutter. Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put 1 potato ball in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (If edges don't adhere, brush them lightly with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Transfer pierogi to a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and cover with another towel. Form more pierogies in same manner.
• Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to onion topping and toss gently to coat. Cook remaining pierogies in same manner, transferring to onions. Reheat pierogies in onion topping over low heat, gently tossing to coat.

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 (TRADITIONAL POLISH DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Pass farmer's cheese and cooked potatoes separately through a food grinder or food processor.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook mushrooms and onions until soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Combine farmer's cheese, potatoes, mushroom mixture, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix together and set filling aside.
• Place flour on a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Crack both eggs into the well. Add butter and a few tablespoons of the warm water. Mix with your hands, gradually adding more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as you go. Knead well, continuing to add more water as needed. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, adding more flour to the work surface as needed.
• Cut off 1/4 of the dough and roll out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out circles using a glass or a round pastry cutter, saving the excess dough for your next batch.
• Fill each dough circle with 1 teaspoon of filling. Fold dough over into a half-moon shape and pinch edges together to seal. Cover with a clean dish towel so pierogi won't dry out and repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the pierogi in batches, about 20 at a time, and cook until they float to the surface, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain in a strainer. Repeat with the remaining pierogi.