Tonight we’re going to make pierogies, little Eastern European dumplings of bliss with filling possibilities limited only by your imagination. If this diary inspires you to roll up your sleeves, start with this video from Susan's Cooking School. It covers the entire process I'm about to describe and is worth the watch!
Note that this is my personal recipe derived from trial and error. A Google search will return varied ratios including dough made with sour cream, which I've never tried. Have a little extra flour and water handy if it's too dry or sticky.
Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 eggs
Measure flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Beat eggs lightly with a fork and stir them into the water.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour well a little bit at a time, stirring from the center out to create a lumpy dough.
Form the dough into a ball and knead in any remaining flour. Turn out onto a flat surface and work until smooth. Let dough rest for 20-30 minutes
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. I'm doing potato, potato/cheese, and mushroom/onion chopped up like this and fried in a little olive oil.
Divide dough and roll about half out on a floured surface to about 1/8”. Cut into circles with a biscuit cutter, or use a drinking glass like I did.
Lay out the circles and place the filling on top. Fold the dough over and pinch the edges together using a fork and a little water if necessary. Mashed potato:
One of my favorite pierogi fillings is lekvar, a traditional prune butter. I'm lazy so I just use a whole prune or two right on the dough.
OK, ready to cook!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and throw in 6-8 pierogies at a time. Boil until they float to the top, about 5 minutes.
Take them out and we’re done! Fry ‘em up with some onions and butter and dinner is served!
