Daring Cooks August Challenge: The World of Pierogi!

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Is there really anything better in the world than dumplings?!  Different forms of these delightful deliciousness come to us from all over the world; in NZ we are lucky to be part of a very multi-cultural society but with all the interesting culinary choices that brings, I had never heard of Peirogi!  I loved making these because they are something that I probably wouldn't have attempted at home by myself but would definitely order in a restaurant, and I was surprised at how easy they were - if just a little bit fiddly!

I used this basic recipe for the dough.  I learnt quickly that I had to be sure I had the dough rolled as thinly as possible to avoid a soggy, doughy finished product.

Dough Recipe

2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour

1 large egg

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time.  Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.

I made a sweet and a savoury filling, with the savoury winning the contest hands down. 

 

Pumpkin, Leek and Sage Pierogi Filling

Roasted pumpkin - mashed

1 leek

1/2 red onion
Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan cheese)

Small handful of fresh sage leaves

50g butter

I sauteed the chopped leek in butter for around 45 minutes, by this time is had reduced to around a third of the original amount and was quite caramelised and sweet.  Mix in finely chopped onion and sage along with the mashed pumpkin, parmesan and season well with salt and pepper.  I should note that I had about 1.5-2 cups of mashed pumpkin which was a good amount to go with the whole leek I'd cooked, but I ended up with about 4 times the amount of filling that I needed!  Allow filling to cool before use.

To assemble the Pierogi, on a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass.  Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together with a fork.

Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil.  Drop in the pierogi, only a single layer in the pan at a time.  Return to the boil and reduce heat.  When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes).

The cooked Pierogi are now ready to eat however I lightly fried these in olive oil before serving - yum!

Apple, Stem Ginger and Chocolate Pierogi

1 apple

2 pieces stem ginger

1T honey

Dark chocolate

For my sweet Pierogi I cooked up some finely chopped apple and stem ginger with honey and then added a little bit of dark chocolate before I sealed the Pierogi.  I used Whittakers Dark Ghana chocolate which is made locally and is fantastic.  I served these with a runny custard.