Daring Cooks August: Pierogi

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

I never had a real pierogi until today, except for one that was frozen from a box. It might as well have been the box for all its cardboard flavor. I always wondered why people rave about them, except that they look so cute; kinda like pockets. So I was pretty excited to have a chance to do it right with this challenge.

Pierogi, for those who might not know, are kinda like a dumpling/ravioli hybrid. They're pieces of dough stuffed with a myriad of fillings (most traditional is potato and/or cheese, but anything from meat to fruit are used) which are boiled and then fried. (I can't believe I haven't tried these before.) I decided to keep this one pretty traditional by using a potato and cheese filling. And I went all out with the nationality of this dish and served it with kielbasa and sauerkraut.

Ok, so I'm not very good at making piergoi. My dough was a little on the sticky side, most of them apparently had holes that leaked all the filling out during boiling, and they in no way resembled the adorable pockets of carbohydrate I've seen in pictures. But they are good. Indulgent, tasty, carby goodness in a deformed lump. Topped with a little sour cream and some tangy salty kielbasa and sauerkraut, I'm still stuffed hours later. These are a true comfort food. I'd like to try them again with maybe some ground beef in the middle.

Potato and Cheese Pierogi

For the dough:
3c All Purpose Flour
1/2t salt
1/4c sour cream
1 egg
1c water

Combine flour, salt, sour cream, egg and water in a large bowl. Mix until dough comes together. If dough is dry, add more water 1T at a time, until it's moist and springy.

On a floured work surface, knead dough for 3-4 minutes until elastic. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.


For the Filling
1-1 1/2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1in slices
2 T unsalted butter
1T olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4t dried thyme
3/4c farmer's cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a medium pot and add enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, melt the butter and oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion, garlic and thyme. cooking until the onion turns translucent. Lower the heat and continue cooking until onions caramelize slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.

When the potatoes are soft, drain in a colander. Return them to the pot, remove from heat and add the cooled onion mixture and the cheese. Mash them just until blended and large lumps are gone. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool while you roll out the pierogi dough.

Assemble-
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. With lightly floured hands, pinch off tablespoon sized portions of the dough and roll them into balls.

On a well floured surface, gently roll each ball with a rolling pin until about 1/8in thick. Cover the finished rounds with a damp towel so they don't dry out.

Once your rounds are rolled out, hold each in the palm of your hand, filling the center of it with a generous tablespoon of the potato mixture. Gently fold the round in half, pulling the edges away and pinching them firmly shut to enclose the filling. Be sure the edges are sealed by working from one end to the other.

As you work, set your filled pierogi aside on a floured surface and cover them with plastic wrap.

Working in batches, drop no more than 6 pierogi at a time into the boiling water. After they float back to the surface, allow them to cook another 2-4 minutes. Remove the pierogi with a slotted spoon and place on a towel to drain and cool.

Just before serving, heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat and briefly saute them in batches until they are slightly crispy and brown on the exterior.