Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Pierogies

As per Groover’s request, I am posting my recipe for pierogies. It’s based on the recipe from Vegan Planet, but we got bored with the plain filling and now jazz things up. So be warned: these are not at all authentic. As long as you keep basic amounts the same, any veggies will work in the filling. It helps to have a large proportion of the filling be a mash—potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, or yam. But there is definitely room for some grated zucchini, shredded spinach, or minced mushrooms. We like to play around with different herbs and spices as well. (I talk about pierogies here and here.)

This recipe is fairly involved, and has a lot of steps. But, it doesn’t need to be done all at once. I usually make the filling one day, then put the pierogies together on another day. And if you double or triple the recipe, the pierogies can be frozen. I’ve found they work best when frozen after boiling but before frying.

These are best served up with a plate of sautéed cabbage and some sort of sauce that suits the filling flavours—anything from tomato to sweet chilli to yogurt.

Happy pierogie-ing!

Dough:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 ½ pounds vegetables—mostly potatoes, but carrots, pumpkin, yams, zucchini, etc. all work well too.
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, or to taste, minced

To make the filling, peel and chop the potatoes and other very hard vegetables. Boil until tender, then drain and mash. In a skillet, sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil, along with any softer vegetables like zucchini, spinach, or mushrooms. Add the onion and veggie mixture to the potatoes and stir well, then season with salt and pepper to taste (and herbs, if you’re feeling like it). Set aside.

To make the dough, place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add water, oil and salt, then mix until combined. Knead the dough until it’s nice and smooth, then divide it in half. Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out half the dough into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 10 x 10 cm squares.

Place a heaped tablespoon of filling onto the dough, then moisten the edges and fold over into a triangle. Press the edges with a fork to seal. If there is a whole lotta edge, cut a bit off so it's not so doughy. Repeat with the remaining half of dough and filling.

Boil a large pot of salted water, and cook the pierogies in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until they float. Drain well and set aside. Once all the pierogies are cooked, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the pierogies until they are golden on each side, and serve warm.

13 comments:

Nicole said...

Oooo pierogies! Thanks for the recipe!!

Vaala ◪ said...

Thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious and something you can put in the freezer to make life a little bit less stressful on those busy nights is always good.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh man, I haven't eaten pierogies in YEARS - they look and sound wonderful!

Amy said...

Mmmmmm your pierogies look delicious! I don't think I've ever had them (only thing is I suspect I am far too lazy to make them, I might however drop in on you one day for a meal :P)

Lucyna Wegankiewiczowa said...

Few words from a polish girl:D

First, "pierogi" is already plural (sing. "pieróg"), so there's no need to add anything at the end, and even if you feel it's more pronounceable to add english sign of plurality, it still would be "pierogis".

The other thing is technical - actually, they're round, moon-shaped:D In your recipe you cut the pastry in squares, and we cut it round with drinking glass, then pour the filling in the middle and then fold over to create a half-circle. Id looks like that:
http://www.pierozek.pl/img/oferta/pierogi/pierogi_200u.jpg
(those on the photo have been cooked first and then fried on butter - that gives them crispy skin and golden colour).

Abut the filling, it can be rally anything, from mushrooms to veggies to fruit, so feel free to experiment. As long as you keep the shape, they are the original thing :)

Cheers,

Tina

Kati said...

Ohhhh, I love pierogies. Or I should say, I used to love pierogies since I sadly haven't had them as a vegan. Thanks for the recipe!

Bianca said...

Yum! I used to love potato and cheese pierogies. I'd like to try your recipe and add a little Teese or other vegan cheese.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Gosh, I just adore pierogies. My grandma used to make them for me all the time. I really miss that. Your recipe looks great.

Theresa said...

Thanks for the tips, Tina. The misspelling (and misshaping) of pierogi is probably a good indication of how in-authentic they are! But authentic or not, I loooove them :)

Groover said...

Thanks Theresa. :-) I now what I'm going to do this weekend. I don't think AMR has eaten them before so I'm going to surprise him ... :-)

Minnie said...

I'm a Ukrainian girl:o)) and, yes, we make ours round, too, pinching the edges together with fingers, with mashed potato filling. Sauerkraut filling is nice, too, if you can wash/cook out the vinegary taste. Change the water several times during cooking, add seasoning on the last cookout, a bay leaf and a pinch of sugar. Serve warm with sauteed onions and marg. Pirohi are lovely next day, fried up til crispy with tomato sauce. Am making these this weekend by special request, for my 'curry and chips; loving 20 yr old son. And 'holobchi'....cabbage rolls are on the menu, too.

I've not heard of half the things on the Vegan 100 list, let alone tasted them! lol Must rectiry that one asap.

Congratulations on your news:o) x

Anonymous said...

Your pierogi(e)s look so lovely I'll have to try these soon! I remember having those half-moon-shaped pierogi in Krakow many years ago, very yummy memories. Thanks for posting this!

And the liquid amigos are the funniest thing I've seen in a loooong time!

Vegan_Noodle said...

YOu are sooo awesome for posting this recipe! I remember eating pierogies as a child but haven't had one in a very long time. Now I just need to make the time to make them.