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Polish Pierogi
As I was growing up pierogi was a yearly
treat & a sure sign that Christmas
was coming. Early in December my father would spend a whole
day making dozens of pierogi for our Christmas Eve meal and to
give as gifts to others. The kitchen was a mess and not having
a dishwasher back then, you would spend an hour or so just
washing pots and dishes that were
used to make them. It's a lot of work but well worth it when
you sit down to a plate of homemade pierogi.
Pierogi can be made in advance & kept frozen up to 2 months,
Just make sure you label each bag with the type of
filling they have in them. This is something you do when the
kids are in school & you'll need as much table space as
possible to make them. To save time make your fillings a few
days in advance.
The types of fillings that you can make & use are endless,
I've listed a few that we always used.
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Dough:
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons softened butter or margarine
Circular Cookie Cutter or empty plastic cup to cut your
circles.
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, keep adding more
flour till the dough no longer sticks to your hands. if your
planning on making a large quantity of these then double up on
the ingredients.
Preparations:
*1 large pot filled 3/4 way full with water
*Cookie sheets, line with wax paper, sprinkle flour generously
on top of paper.
This will hold your pierogi that are waiting to be cooked.
*Rolling Pin
*Wax Paper
*Flour, you will be using this often to dust your table &
dough
*Large pan or pot to let cooked pierogi cool in.
*Melted margarine to pour over cooked pierogi to keep them
from sticking together
*Large Baggies
*On a large, clean surface, cover generously with flour, take
a chunk of your dough, flatten with your hands, dust with
flour, cover with a piece of wax paper, start rolling your
dough, This is just like making cut-out sugar cookies, except
that you will be making circles only. Once your dough is all
rolled out (not too thin) Again dust with flour, take your
cookie cutter or cup & dip in some flour first, start cutting
out your circular shapes, Put all your circles on the side of
your table or on a cookie shape till later when you will start
filling them. MAKE SURE TO COVER CIRCLES WITH FLOUR! Or
they will stick together if your placing them on top of each
other.
Keep making your circles, rolling out & using all of your
dough, just like cookies.
Now just incase you figure "This isn't for me" you can take
those circles & cut them up diagonally to make strips, Throw
them in the boiling water, cook for 15 minutes or so & you'll
have Homemade Kluski Noodles. Pour some melted butter on them
& serve.
You can also do this with any excess dough you have that your
not using anymore to make the pierogi.
*After you got all your circles made, should be a few dozen,
clean up some of your working space & your going to start
filling & making the pierogi.
Get a small bowl & fill with water to dip your fingers in for
sealing the dough.
Have your covered cookie sheets ready (floured) to place your
pierogi on.
Work with one type of filling at a time, Take a circle,
stretch the dough gently, and place 1 teaspoon of your filling
in it about a 1/4 from the edge of one side of your circle. If
you add too much filling they won't close correctly or will
bust open during the boiling process. Dip your finger in water
& moisten the edges of your circle, bring one side over &
cover your filling, crescent style, start crimping & sealing
your edges together. They Must be totally sealed! If they
won't stick together moisten the inner edges with a little
water. Place on your cookie sheet & dust with flour.
Now keep repeating the process, changing fillings when you
want, keep your diiferent type of filled pierogi on separate
cookie sheets. Always keep them well floured!
While your filling your pierogi, bring your pot of water to
boil, when you have at least 12 ready, you can start dropping
them GENTLY into the boiling water, stir with a wooden spoon,
Reduce the heat a little. Once they start floating on the top,
reduce heat to medium & cook for 20 minutes. Take them out of
the water with a spoon that has slits for draining, Place in
large bowl & pour some melted butter or margarine over them to
avoid sticking, slowly mix with wooden spoon to so that they
all are covered, let cool.
Now you can serve and eat them this way, covered in melted
butter or in a large frying pan, melt butter or margarine &
brown up your pierogi to your taste. Always add a tablespoon
of water to the butter or margarine to prevent the pierogi
from scorching as they fry.
If your going to freeze them for later meals or even just to
store in your refrigerator make sure you coat with margarine
or butter & let cool thoroughly before putting in baggies to
store away. label your bags with the type that they are.
When your cooking them in the water, you will usually get a
few that open up, this is due to them not being pinched &
sealed well. If your dough burst open from the center then
your dough was too thin, it shouldn't be see through. Some
people do like a very thin dough encasing their filling but
this shouldn't be done unless your accomplished at making
these.
*This is basically how you make pierogi, a lot of work and
it's messy, but well worth it.
Below are a few different fillings to make & use in them. Feel free to add
to them to
make them more to your taste.
Fillings:
Cheese Filling (sweet)
2 or 3 containers of Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Sugar (add to taste)
Cheese Filling (regular)
2 containers Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
1 cup mashed potato flakes or cooked mashed potato's
Salt & pepper to taste
*** You can substitute the Ricotta cheese with "Farmers
Cheese"
Just crumble the cheese & add to either
recipe.
Saukraut Filling:
Use your favorite saurkraut recipe that has been made ahead of
time. Make sure it is well drained by pressing down firmly
with your hands to squeeze out any excess liquid.
Meat Filling:
1lb Ground Beef
1 package of dried instant onion soup mix
1 large Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
Brown your ground beef slightly, drain excess grease, add
onion soup mix,
mix together & fill pierogi.
When pierogi are done, put in a large serving dish & cover
with Hot Cream of Mushroom Soup. This is a meal in itself,
Serve with fresh mashed potato's & vegetable.
Fruit Fillings
Plum: Buy plums when in season, pitted or non
pitted, rinse well, slice in half, remove pit's if they have
them. Place plum half on your dough 1/4 way from edge, open
side up, pour about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar on plum & cover with
dough. SEAL WELL!
Plums can be substituted with cherries when in season, place 2
or 3 cherries on dough close together & cover with sugar.
When working with fruit filling, it's better that you roll out
your dough slightly on the thicker side so that when you
stretch the dough to cover the fruit it won't rip open.
Apple Filling:
Peeled & Quartered Apples
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cinnamon
Mix sugar & cinnamon together in bowl to dip your apple slices
in.
Use any apples, softer ones are better though. Peel & slice
the apples into thin quarters. Put apple slices in a large
bowl & cover with your sugar mix, fill pierogi.
This is very messy to make due to the cinnamon but they taste
Great!
Cooked Pierogi can be kept frozen for at least 3 months.
If you make fruit filled pierogi, cool thoroughly & freeze
immediately.
This way you'll have them for your holiday meal.
Enjoy!
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Thank You!
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