Yuliyas Potato Pirogues Recipes

POTATO AND CHEESE PIEROGIES

Steps:

• For the dough: Work the egg, sour cream, butter and salt in a small bowl with a whisk or fork to form a batter. Pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the sour cream mixture and mix thoroughly with your hands until a dough forms. (The dough is ready to use right away but if you are not forming the pierogies immediately, wrap in plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.)
• For the filling: Stir together the mashed potatoes, cheese and chives in a medium bowl until well combined. Chill the filling so it is easier to work with.
• To form the pierogies: Roll the dough mass out to 1/8-inch thickness and cut 3-inch rounds. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in each round, and then fold over into half-moons, being careful not to push filling into the seam. Press closed and crimp with a fork if scalloped edges are preferred.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pierogies and wait until they float, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with chives and a crack of black pepper.

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.

HOMEMADE POTATO AND CHEESE PIEROGIES / OLD FASHIONED PEROGIES

Steps:

• Potato and Cheese Filling: Cook the onion in butter until tender.
• Combine it with potatoes and cheese.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Vary the proportions and ingredients in this recipe to suit your taste.
• Mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
• Add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
• Knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
• Caution: Too much kneading will toughen the dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 parts.
• Cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
• Prepare the filling.
• The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
• Roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
• Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
• Put the round in the palm of your hand.
• Place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
• The edges should be free of filling.
• Be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
• Place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
• COOKING: Drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
• Do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
• Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
• The cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
• Pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
• Remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
• Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
• Cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
• Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
• Top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
• REHEATING: One of the great things about perogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without loss of quality.
• Many prefer reheated perogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
• To re-heat, you can: 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or, 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or, 3) deep fry them.

POTATO AND CHEESE PIEROGI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain.
• Combine flour, eggs and salt. Mix in a little water at a time until dough is somewhat stiff. Roll dough in small sections about 1/4 inch thick. Using a large biscuit cutter or drinking glass, make circle cuts.
• To make filling: Mix together potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and onion salt. Fill each with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture, fold over and seal edges. To cook, bring a large pot of water to boil, carefully dropping in one at a time; stir once. They are done when they float to the top.

YULIYA'S POTATO PIROGUES

Steps:

• To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Make a well in the center and add the water and egg yolks. With a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the dough holds together, adding a little more water if necessary.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 2 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and set it aside.
• For the filling, boil the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
• Drain the potatoes, then mash them by hand.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the onion, cheese, and salt to the potatoes and mash them inches.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, break the dough into quarters. Roll one out thin on a floured surface.
• Using a biscuit cutter or a water glass, cut the dough into 3 to 3 1/2-inch circles. Roll out and cut the scraps. Repeat with the other 3 quarters until all the dough is used.
• Put a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle.
• Moisten the edge of the circle with a wet fingertip, then fold it in half and press the edges together firmly to seal.
• Drop the pierogi, 8 to 10 at a time, into the boiling water. Simmer until the pierogi rise to the surface, then continue to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes more.
• Next, melt a little butter in a large skillet. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pierogi from the water into the skillet. Cook them in the butter over medium high heat for several minutes, until lightly browned on both sides.
• Serve hot and garnish with a little extra cheese, if you like.

POTATO AND ONION PIEROGI

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to boil for the potatoes. Saute the onion in a small pan in 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent and set aside. Boil the potatoes until tender.
• While the potatoes are boiling, begin the dough. Whisk together the eggs, 1/4 cup water and sour cream and pour into a small pitcher (or you can actually whisk them right in a container such as a 2-cup glass measuring vessel). Mound the flour in the center of a clean room-temperature work surface like a large wooden cutting board. Create a crater in the center of the mound. Pour enough of the egg mixture into the center to fill the crater. With a fork, gently begin to scramble the mixture within the confines of the crater, whilst integrating the flour from the sides of the crater as you carefully beat the egg mixture.
• Once this first amount of the egg mixture is mostly mixed in, shore up the sides of the mound again with flour, maintaining the crater shape. Repeat the process with a second pour of egg mixture into the crater, and again until you have combined all the egg mixture. (Remember that making pasta is not an exact science. Depending on the flour, you may need more moisture to make the dough come together, in which case use a little extra milk or water. Conversely, if the dough is too wet, add a little more flour - but just enough to make it the right consistency. This is an acquired skill so be patient with yourself.) Start kneading the dough with your palms, allowing the warmth of your hands to impart elasticity to the dough. Knead for a count of about 400 strokes or until you feel you have created a cohesive mass. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Return to the potatoes, drain, and mash them with the sauteed onion, chives, butter, milk, and salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
• Work with 1/3 of the pasta dough at a time - keeping the balance wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Use a pasta machine to gradually roll each section of the pasta down, successively reducing the setting on the machine until it is at a thickness of 1/16th of an inch.
• Cut 3-inch circles of pasta, spoon some of the mashed potatoes into the center and fold the filled circles into half moons, sealing the edges with egg wash and pressing shut with your fingers or carefully with the times of a fork.
• Bring a large shallow saute pan of water to a boil, and gently boil the pierogi in batches for 2 or 3 minutes, removing carefully to a utility platter with a wooden spoon.
• The final step is to melt the butter in a large fry pan and saute the garlic for a few minutes until it is tender and imparts its flavor to the butter in the pan. Be careful not to burn either the butter or the garlic. Saute the pierogi in this garlic butter and serve.