Pierogi
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Pierogi
11th May, 2018
11th May, 2018
Pierogi from Poland are little boiled dumplings which can be filled with either sweet or savoury. Pierogi are believed to have originated in Poland but have several interesting origin stories including China. All I care about though is that they are delicious
Other savoury fillings that are popular are sauerkraut, mushrooms and spinach as well as fruit based fillings such as cherries, plums and apples
Ingredients
Method
This a quick dough recipe with no additional yeast so in a large bowl, sift the flour and make a shallow well in the centre. Pour in the salt, oil and water and gradually mix the flour into the wet ingredients until you've got a soft dough. At this point, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for until the dough is smooth. Pop the dough onto a tea towel, wrap it up and let it sit in a cool dark room for half an hour
Now that the dough is out of the way, peel and cube your potatoes and pop into a pan of cold salted water. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft enough for a knife to pass through. Strain the potatoes and allow to steam under a tea towel
In a frying pan, heat a small amount of oil over a medium heat and then fry the onions until crisp and browned and then set aside to cool
Add the cottage cheese and the cooked potatoes to a large bowl and mash together and then tip in the onions as well some seasoning. Give it a quick stir and set aside
On a lightly floured surface, tip out the dough and roll to a thickness of about 3mm (the thickness of a £1 coin). Using a cutter, cut out 4 inch rounds and set each round to one side
To assemble, spoon a teaspoonful of the potato and cheese filling onto the middle of the pastry rounds before using a pastry brush to brush a bit of water around the edges to help it seal. Fold the edges of the pastry round together to create a half-moon shaped dumpling before pressing the edges together to seal with a fork. These can be kept in the fridge until needed
To finish, bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and then add in small batches of the dumplings and cook for a few minutes or until they start to float. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a clean tea towel to absorb excess water
At this point, I like to fry them off as it gives the dough a crispier texture. Just add some butter to a frying pan and fry a few off at a time until they're browned. You can keep the first few batches in a warm oven.
Serve the dumplings with soured cream spooned over the top and if you fancy it; some crumbled crispy bacon
