Potato & Sauerkraut Pierogies

Meredith Pangrace
Home Chef
Cleveland, OH

Pierogies were in regular rotation for my grandmother’s Sunday dinners, but she rarely made her own. She said it wasn’t
worth the work and Mrs. T’s were just as good. She would buy them frozen to sauté with onions and bacon, applesauce and sour
cream on the side. While I appreciate knowing what to make from scratch and what to buy, Mrs. T’s aren’t vegan. It’s pretty hard
to find any prepared pierogies that are. But the good news is you can make a great pierogi dough on your own, and if you fill
them with a premade ingredient (like sauerkraut, or leftover mashed potatoes) it’s not as time-consuming as you might think.
Make a double batch and freeze them. This recipe calls for half potato-filled and half sauerkraut-filled. I like the surprise of not
knowing what I’m going to get when I have several on my plate. You could also mix the sauerkraut into the potatoes and have
them all be the same. Once you master the dough and assemblage, get creative with the fillings—caramelized onions, roasted
mushrooms, or butternut squash.”

Makes about 24 pierogies

Ingredients
Dough:
3 cups flour + flour for dusting work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

Filling:
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons plant milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons oil

Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Make a well in the center and pour in the butter and stir.
Slowly add the water and mix. As the dough starts to form, use your hands to knead the dough for about 5
minutes until it’s nice and smooth. Cover and let rest while you make the filling.
 In a medium pot on the stove, boil the potatoes until tender.
Drain the potatoes and put into a large bowl. Add the salt, spices, milk, and nutritional yeast. Mash, taste for
seasoning, adjust, and set aside.
Dust your work surface with flour.
Divide your dough into balls, about the size of a ping-pong ball. You’ll get about 2 dozen balls.
Roll out each ball into about a 3-inch circle. Put a spoonful of the potato mixture into the center of half of
the circles and fold dough over. Press the edges down with a fork. (You could also try rolling all the dough out flat,
and using a glass to cut out the round shapes, if you find that to be quicker.)
Put a spoonful of sauerkraut into the center of the remaining balls and fold dough over. Press the edges
down with a fork.
In a large pot, boil the pierogies in salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain. Be gentle so they do not break.
Put the ones you’re not going to eat immediately into freezer bags.
Brown the onion in olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pierogies gently and let them brown
on one side, then carefully flip to brown the other side.
Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with applesauce and vegan sour cream.