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This recipe comes from Pierogi Love, attribute to a traditional peasant dish from Eastern Europe. Pierogies may look like empanadas, but they have a very different dough and give you a wonderfully fulfilling experience in mouth satisfaction. Here the filling is quite basic, just potato and cheese. In the book, you’ll find many filling ideas, both savory and sweet. Easily made, easily cooked, and endlessly enjoyed.

Susie and I had a blast making these. And the good news is that half of them are still sitting in our freezer, ready to become the ultimate in comfort food.


Potato and Cheddar Pierogies with Caramelized Onion

Yield: about 24

Ingredients:

For the pierogies:

  • ½ pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 medium or 2 small), cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce, 28 grams) finely shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
  • 1 batch Basic Savory Dough [recipe follows]

For the caramelized onions:

  • 2 tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 grams) unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into strips along the “grain"
  • ¼ cup (or more) chicken or beef broth
  • Sauerkraut for serving, optional
  • Sour cream for serving, optional)

Preparation:

FOR PIEROGIES: Place potatoes in a medium saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Uncover and cook until potato are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to | the pan. Place over low heat and stir for about 30 seconds to remove excess moisture. Run potatoes through a ricer or food mill fitted with fine disk into bowl. Stir in remaining 1/a teaspoon salt, cheese, and 1 tablespoon cream; consistency should be firm enough to roll into a ball. If filling is too dry, stir in additional 1 tablespoon cream.

Roll out dough and stamp into rounds. Place 1 teaspoon filling on each dough round; brush with egg wash fold, pinch, and seal as directed.

FOR ONIONS: melt butter in a medium skillet over low heat. Stir in onion and cook until starting to soften, about 10 minutes. Add ¼ cup broth and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft and deeply browned, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. If onions start to burn before they are fully caramelized, add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional broth as needed.

TO COOK AND SERVE: Deep fry, boil, or pan fry the pierogies as you desire. Serve immediately with the onions and optionally with sauerkraut or sour cream.

 


Basic Pierogi Dough Both Savory and Sweet

Yield: about 24

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (full-fat, reduced-fat, or nonfat)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • For savory pierogies: 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • For sweet pierogies: 1 tablespoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

Whisk 1 egg, sour cream or yogurt, butter, and salt (for savory pierogies) or sugar and salt (for sweet pierogies) in a bowl. Add flour to a large bowl. Gently stir wet ingredients into flour. The dough will initially be very dry and shaggy, seeming as if it will never come together, but have no fear: Keep stirring, and it will pull itself into shape.

Once the dough starts to come together, press and smash it against the sides of the bowl with your palms, picking up dough bits and essentially kneading it within the bowl until it forms a ball.

Tip dough and any remaining shaggy flakes out onto a clean work surface. Knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover dough with the bowl and let rest 15 minutes.

Whisk remaining egg and water in a small bowl for egg wash.


Source: Pierogi Love by Casey Barber [Gibbs Smith, 2015]

Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for1/30th second at ISO‑200