Best Old World Pierogis Recipes

TRADITIONAL POLISH PIEROGI

Steps:

• Pour flour into large bowl and form a well in the center.
• Add water, egg, oil and salt into well and beat together with a fork (without mixing together with flour).
• Continue stirring while gradually adding flour until soft dough forms.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and begin to knead until smooth and elastic. This should take around 8 minutes and continue to add flour to keep the dough from sticking.
• Place soft dough in a bowl and let sit 1 hour at room temperature.
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-in pieces.
• Cook in large saucepan of salted water until tender, usually about 8 minutes.
• Drain. Then transfer to bowl and add cheese, salt and pepper and mash until smooth. Let cool.
• Add onion and butter to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat. Stir occasionally until the onions are golden brown.
• Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Halve dough, keeping the other half in bowl, and roll out on lightly floured surface (be sure not to over-flour or dough will not stretch) with a lightly floured rolling pin.
• Cut out rounds with a lightly floured cutter, a cup will work fine.
• Holding round in one hand, add small amount of mashed potato filling to the center and close dough around the filling.
• Brush edges with water and pinch together to seal or seal with a fork. Make sure you're not leaving any gaps or the filling could come out while cooking.
• Bring a 6-8 quart pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
• Add half of pierogi, stirring a couple times to make sure they aren't sticking together.
• After the pierogi float to the surface, cook 5 minutes longer.
• Coat cooked pierogi in caramelized onion topping and serve with sour cream!

OLD FASHIONED PIEROGIES

Steps:

• Add flour to a mixer and make a well. Add the two eggs to the well with 1/2 cup of water. Mix all ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Add more water or flour so that the dough isn't too sticky or runny. Flour a large cutting board, pastry slab, or the counter, like I do. Roll the dough out to about 1/8 of an inch. Cut circle out with the top of a glass or ramekin. Fill the circle with 1 teaspoon of mashed potatoes, then fold the dough circle in half, sealing in the potatoes by running your finger with some water on it, around half the circle. Pinch closed. Set aside until you have made all you want to. Boil a pot of salted water, then cook the pierogies. They will float when they are done. Butter them as soon as they are taken out so that they don't stick to each other!

OLD WORLD PIEROGIS

Steps:

• Mix together the dry ingredients and incorporate the beaten eggs, sour cream and butter. Mix with fingers until well blended. Put into covered round bowl and drizzle with the bacon fat or olive oil, flipping the dough in the bowl to coat the outside with the oil.....let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Mash the potatoes with a fork and incorporate the cottage cheese, mixing well. Saute the green onion and the carrots in a little butter....remove from heat and add to the potato mixture. Add the rest of the seasoning and mix well.....form little mounds of the mixture using a teaspoon. You should have approximately 18 to 22 mounds......the dough recipe makes about 18 pierogis so you may have to make 2 batches of dough.....you may want to make another filling anyway to fill the rest of the pierogis...good to have a variety...you can fill with Bavarian sauerkraut with mushrooms and onions ...or you can fill with various types of ground meats and seasonings or various veggies chopped fine.....set the mounds aside and roll out the dough on a floured surface kneading it lightly before doing so. You will roll it out to an 18 inch circle. Make an oval form out of cardboard or paper that is 5 inches by 3 inches....move the form around the dough circle and cut out the shapes with a plastic knife.....set all the ovals aside.....when you are finished making all the ovals you can fill them and fold the dough over, crimping the edges with a fork dipped in flour.....you may first want to press the edges gently with your fingers......set these filled pierogis on a plate till all are finished. Take a medium sized chicken fryer or kettle and fill half way with water and add 1T. of salt....bring this to a rolling boil.....drop in about 6 pierogis and boil for about 2 minutes or till they float to the top....remove with a slotted spoon and place on a platter until they are all boiled.....take a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan and melt some butter in the bottom.....(about 1 T.)...place the boiled pierogis in the hot buttery pan and brown them on both sides.....serve hot with sour cream. If you like add some sliced onions in the pan and brown them along with the pierogis.

HOMEMADE POTATO AND CHEESE PIEROGIES / OLD FASHIONED PEROGIES

Steps:

• Potato and Cheese Filling: Cook the onion in butter until tender.
• Combine it with potatoes and cheese.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Vary the proportions and ingredients in this recipe to suit your taste.
• Mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
• Add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
• Knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
• Caution: Too much kneading will toughen the dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 parts.
• Cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
• Prepare the filling.
• The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
• Roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
• Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
• Put the round in the palm of your hand.
• Place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
• The edges should be free of filling.
• Be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
• Place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
• COOKING: Drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
• Do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
• Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
• The cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
• Pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
• Remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
• Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
• Cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
• Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
• Top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
• REHEATING: One of the great things about perogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without loss of quality.
• Many prefer reheated perogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
• To re-heat, you can: 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or, 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or, 3) deep fry them.