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Pierogi Recipie:
An Ode to my Grandmother.
I remember being little and 'helping' my grandmother make Pierogi. More often than not I was just making amess, but I always remember waiting until the first few were out of the water so I could eat them. For those whodon't know Pierogi are dough pockets that can be filled with a lot of different things. In my family we had“Kapusta” and “Potato and Cheese” Pierogi. They are boiled and then pan-fried, though I often didn't even waitfor that. As my grandmother got older she gradually stopped making them, and I started. I know there are a lot of different ways to make Pierogi, and its a food that spans several cultures so the fillings differ house-to-house. Asfor my grandmother she was born polish, lived for awhile working on a farm in austria before coming to thestates. She spoke seven languages to my knowledge including polish, german, ukranian, russian, and english.When it comes down to her recipies I am never really sure if they are polish, or something else altogether since itseems a lot of times she mix-and-matched languages. What I am sharing is what I was taught. Enjoy!
Pierogi Dough:
3 cups flour 2 egg yolks1 tbs oil1 cup water Combine all ingrediants in alarge mixing bowl, and beginto knead/mix it together.(I'm not sure how a electrixmixer will work for this, we'vealways just used our hands.Make sure they are clean!)Mixing it will take a littlewhile, it will seem sticky andits not a altogether pleasantfeeling. (I cried my eyes outwhen I was five because I couldn't get the dough off myhands! Turns out my gram was right flour works better thanwater to unstick yourself.) After awhile the dough shouldstart coming together. (If it still seems really-really stickyadd more flour, or if its really dry add a little more water)When you've gotten it all to stick together in a ball you can remove it from the bowl and begin to Knead it on a clean surface. It maystill seem to stick to your hands and thecounter but don't worry. After ten minites or so of kneading it the dough should be smoothand only a little tacky. Put it back in the bowland cover with a damp (not wet) towel untilyour ready to use the dough.
So now you have the dough! Now comes the fun part!
Cut your dough in half. Place half back in the bowl and recover. Then roll what remains out like asnake. The snake should be between one and two incheswide. Working on a floured surface, slice it as shown in the picture to the left, how wide you choose to cut it willmake your Pierogi either bigger or smaller. (Smaller ones certainly go further.)Once thats done roll each piece out into circles. If you cansee thru them, they are too thin. (Becareful, thin streachedones can end up like the one in the picture below I marked as bad, they break open in the water.) Now that they are rolled out, place your choice of filling in the center. (I used Kapusta filling; recipies below)All thats left now is to fold them over and pinchthem together. (Grandma always used to say “glueup” when it came to this.) Make sure that they arecompleetly sealed all the way around.Boil these in a pot of water with a little oil added toit. I recommend only boiling about five or six at atime so they don't end up sticking together. It willonly take about 5min before they float to the top. Remove them from the water and place on a cookiesheet to cool and dry. Remember to flip them over after one side is dry so the other side can too. Youcan go ahead and eat them at this stage. Or you can fry themin a pan with butter. You can fry them with onions or breadcrumbs. Both are great.
Kapusta,
so good even a cat will eat it!Kapusta
is very simple to make. It is greateither as a filling for Pierogi or on its ownwith Kielbasa. Kapusta I believe is actuallythe word for cabbage. But in this case our family (and others?) use it to refer to this particilar dish.
You Will Need:
1 package of Sourkraut.1 small head of Cabbage or ½ of a larger one.1 package of Bacon.Salt and Pepper.Chopped Onions(Mushrooms can also be added)In a large pan (or electric skillet) fry bacon and onions until browned. Half drain your sourkraut andadd it to the pan. (You can also add some water if you choose.) Shred the cabbage and place this ontoof whats already in your pan. The cabbage will shrink down as it cooks so even though it may look like a lot, it really isn't. Just be patient and let this all cook down for awhile stirring every so often.The longer you cook it the less sour it will become. I generally cook mine anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.Add your salt and pepper to taste.
Note:
If you plan to use this for the Pierogi
it is best to let it coolfirst otherwise it may be hard towork with.
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