Rainy Day Pierogies

If you slept past noon today, then you're probably wondering about the title of this post. It rained all morning, then cleared up, and was beautiful for the Taste of Randolph, right around the corner from Mortar + Pestle headquarters. In fact, we've been enjoying the music all day!

If you have a soccer player in your household, like I do, you know that they require an endless supply of carbs. If your soccer player is part Polish, you know that potato pierogi are the best solution. I whipped up a batch using a recipe from Pittsburgh, a city that, according to the recipe page, eats 11 times more pierogi than anyone else in the country. Chicago and Greenpoint, Brooklyn have to be close.

I grew up in Brooklyn Heights, and our local diner was a Polish diner called Teresa's.  Crispy golden potato pierogi with generous helpings of applesauce and caramelized onions have long been a favorite comfort food, but I have never tried to make them from scratch before today. Here's a walk-through of my first attempt (please try this at home!):

Start by peeling some potatoes, cubing them up and setting them on to boil. Then chop up an onion and caramelized it over medium-low heat. 

While those are working, make yourself a little mound of flour, mixed with some salt. 

 Mix butter and sour cream in a measuring cup, scramble one egg. I used my ever handy durawear glass also known, in our household, as our everyday wine glasses.

Pour the eggs slowly into the well, working it in as you go. Add the butter and sour cream and mix together with your hands until  it starts to come together

Then knead it until it's no longer sticky, and shape it into a ball. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

 In the meantime, mash your potatoes, and stir in the caramelized onions and farmer cheese. Be sure to mash fully before adding in the onions. The onions get stuck in the masher, so they need to be stirred in. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once you have this delicious filling together, roll balls about 1 inch around. My dough scraper has a handy ruler on it.

Assemble an army of filling balls

Remove the dough from it's resting bowl and roll out to about 1/8 thick.

Cut dough circles about 3" diameter. I, once again, used my trusty Duralex wine glass. Put a filling ball on top of the dough circle.

Mush filling into pierogi shape, so you have a little dough-filling taco.

 Pinch the dough together around the filling. Work the two sides together really well so that they don't open up during cooking. Boil in salted water until they float and then pan fry in olive oil til golden.

Pierogi time! I like mine with applesauce and caramelized onions, but sour cream is a quite popular accompaniment as well! 

Smacznego! Buen provecho! Enjoy your Pierogi


Recipe
Link to original site
Time: About 2 hours

Pierogi

• 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
• 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• butter and onions for sauteing
• ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below)

Preparation:

Pierogi Dough
To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Each batch of dough makes about 12-15 pierogies, depending on size. Prepare the Pierogies
Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.
Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.
Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true Pittsburgh pierogi meal.

Filling:
Makes about 20 balls

2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" cubes
One onion, chopped
6 oz Farmer's Cheese
2 tbsp butter

Place chopped onion in a frying pan with a generous knob of butter. Caramelize over medium heat until golden, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Place potatoes in a saucepan with cold water over high heat. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain, return to pan, mash.  Stir in onions and Farmer's cheese. Season to taste. Roll into 1-inch balls.