Best Lithuanian Pierogies Recipes

LITHUANIAN POTATO-MEAT DUMPLINGS (CEPELINAI)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, mix together ground meat, finely chopped onion, the salt, a few grinds of pepper, and the egg until well combined.
• Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Add the lemon juice to the raw grated potatoes so they don't turn brown.
• Place them in a fine-mesh cheesecloth or cotton dishtowel, and twist over a large bowl to get rid of the excess water.
• Pour off the water, reserving the potato starch at the bottom of the bowl.
• Unwrap the cheesecloth and place the raw potatoes in the bowl with the potato starch you reserved from the bottom of the bowl.
• Add the cooked riced potatoes, grated onion, and the salt, more to taste. Mix well.
• Put a large stockpot of well-salted water on to boil.
• To form the zeppelins, take about 1 cup of dumpling mixture and pat it flat in the palm of the hand.
• Place 1/4 cup or more of meat mixture in the center and, using slightly dampened hands, fold the potato mixture around the meat into a football shape, sealing well. Continue until both mixtures are used.
• Carefully lower dumplings (in batches if necessary to prevent crowding) into salted, boiling water to which 1 tablespoon of cornstarch has been added (to prevent dumplings from falling apart). Make sure water returns to the boil; reduce the heat to low and continue simmering until the filling is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon or strainer, drain briefly on a clean dish towel and place on a heated platter.
• Gather the ingredients.
• While the dumplings are boiling, make the gravy. In a medium skillet, fry the bacon and chopped onion until tender.
• Drain and combine with sour cream and black pepper. Thin with 1 to 2 tablespoons milk if necessary.
• Ladle the gravy over the dumplings or pass the gravy at the table.

LITHUANIAN PIEROGIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix the dough ingredients. (First 4 listed)Dough will be soft, so have extra flour for rolling out on; adding etc.
• 2. Mix your filling ingredients. (Last 3 listed) To make: Work on a large table. Using a well-floured wooden board or table top surface,( I put a vinyl cloth down) roll out 1/2 of the dough; sprinkling more flour on it as needed to be less sticky. Roll as thin as for a cut out sugar cookie. Then using a nice size glass, cut your circles;dipping your glass into the flour with each cut. When you have all your circles cut, lift away the excess dough to a pile to use later. Circles will not stick if you use enough flour.
• 3. On your table, spread some wax paper sheets out and well flour them. This is where you'll place the finished pierogies until you par-boil them. Important to flour the wax paper to prevent sticking. Now using a spatula or carefully lifting - take one circle at a time and fill w/ about 1/2-1 tsp of filling. To close your pierogie take your finger into the warm water and go around the inside of each dough circle edge. Fold over your pierogies to make a half- moon shape. Close by pinching the edges of your dough so there are no holes along its edge. (Important so the filling cannot escape) As you complete each pierogies lay it onto the waxed paper. Keep going using the dough and cutting circles and filling them until all the pierogies are complete. Should make about 30.
• 4. When finished, bring some water to boil in a large frying pan and par-boil the pierogies to "set them" for about 2 minutes. Place on a plate or more wax paper. When drained enough, you can freeze them or put them into plastic container until ready to make them for a meal. I fry butter and onions and add my pierogies to fry them on each side. If using frozen ones, I par-boil them to thaw again and then cook in my frying pan.

PIEROGIES

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Put flour in a large shallow bowl and make a well in center. Add water, egg, oil, and salt to well and carefully beat together with a fork without incorporating flour. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (dough will be very soft). Invert a bowl over dough and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Make filling while dough stands:
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth.
• When mashed potatoes are cool enough to handle, spoon out a rounded teaspoon and lightly roll into a ball between palms of your hands. Transfer ball to a plate and keep covered with plastic wrap while making 47 more balls in same manner (there will be a little filling left over).
• Make onion topping:
• Cook onion in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Form and cook pierogies:
• Halve dough and roll out 1 half (keep remaining half under inverted bowl) on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured cutter. Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put 1 potato ball in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (If edges don't adhere, brush them lightly with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Transfer pierogi to a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and cover with another towel. Form more pierogies in same manner.
• Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to onion topping and toss gently to coat. Cook remaining pierogies in same manner, transferring to onions. Reheat pierogies in onion topping over low heat, gently tossing to coat.