39 replies to this topic

[Jenikaye]

I'm looking for a pierogi recipe....anyone have any? They seem like they would be pretty easy to make.

What is the outside made of? Pastry dough? Pasta dough?

And the stuffing....can it be anything, like a ravioli type deal? Or do they have special ingredients?

Thanks!

[prasantrin]

I used this recipe for my pirohy making adventure earlier this year. It's from a Slovak friend. Generally, the dough is very pasta-like. This particular adds a bit of mashed potato to the dough. It was very easy to work with, and very forgiving.

I don't like Sauerkraut, so I used mashed potato/cheese mixtures (one with cottage cheese, another with cheddar) as fillings. You can pretty much do anything you want, but I usually see sauerkraut, potato, potato cheese, and cottage cheese as fillings. I've also seen fruit ones--usually blueberry.

For pictures of my pirohy experience, look here. For the faint-hearted, beware. I like to pan-fry my pirohy in butter, along with onions. Very authentically Winnipeg .

[Pam R]

hmmm... I was going to say they aren't very pasta-like. Or pastry-like. They're more doughy.

Favorite filling for me: mashed potatoes, a TON of fried onions - really caramelized and just some salt and pepper. Fry them in shmaltz if you have it.
Second favorite: cottage cheese mixed with some egg, salt and pepper.

I like them fried too- with lots of sour cream. But when we make them at work, it's not odd to see people sneaking some out of the freshly boiled batch.

[StevenC]

I just got back from a pierogi-eating adventure across Poland.

In general, the dough was always thicker and, well, more doughy than the kind used for classic Italian stuffed pasta, in which the gluten needs to be developed. In fact, I didn't really sense much gluten at all in the pierogi dough, which suggests it may have been made in part with potatoes.

The following were among the better examples I tried:

- stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms and topped with cubes of fried bacon
- stuffed with beef tripe
- stuffed with wild mushrooms
- stuffed with peppery mashed potatoes and then pan-fried until crispy and brown (the result reminded me a bit of pan-fried Peking dumplings, except, of course, for the potato filling)
- stuffed with fresh wild berries and drenched in sour cream

[Pam R]

I just got back from a pierogi-eating adventure across Poland.

In general, the dough was always thicker and, well, more doughy than the kind used for classic Italian stuffed pasta, in which the gluten needs to be developed.  In fact, I didn't really sense much gluten at all in the pierogi dough, which suggests it may have been made in part with potatoes.

The dough sounds like the ones I grew up on and we continue to make at work - I guess that's because my baba was from Poland and she taught us all how to make them

Are you ready to try making them yourself? Do you need a dough recipe?

[Jenikaye]

I think I'm going to make some of these this weekend. I've got to start practicing so I can be good enough to make them for my FIL this summer (his family is from Poland) "Gotta impress the in-laws..." (or try, any way) do you have a different recipe from the one above?

[StevenC]

Are you ready to try making them yourself? Do you need a dough recipe?

[/quote]

I'm going to try to make them over the next couple of weeks. A dough recipe would be great!

[Pam R]

Here's one of the recipes I use - it's pretty simple. Not many ingredients.

Kreplach (Perogy) Dough
1 ¾ C. water
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
4 C. flour

Mix everything together and knead it (I use a dough hook with my mixer. Start with 3 C. of flour and add in enough to form a soft dough). Place on a tray and cover with plastic wrap. Let it relax on the counter for a couple of hours - it's best if it's warm. Roll it out on a floured worksurface and cut with can into circles.

Top each circle with filling - a heaping tbsp. should do it. Fold dough over the filling to form a 1/2 circle. Pinch the 2 sides of dough together - make sure it's well sealed.

Bring a large pot of water to boil - with a little oil in it. When all of your perogy are formed, gently place in the boiling water - checking all of the edges as you go. Boil until they are floating. USe a slotted spoon and place into a colander. If you're going to freeze them - toss in a little canola oil - then place in a single layer to cool.

I like them best fried after boiling. Use butter and top with sour cream.

Edited by Pam R, 29 August 2005 - 05:47 PM.

[Marlene]

Psst. Please post your recipes in RecipeGullet and link to them here.

[piazzola]

I always get confused by Poles calling what we call varenikes and piroshky
varenikies are the Ukranian version of boiled pierogies and a national pride for Ukrainians varenikes mean boiled from the word varet'
Piroshkies on the other hand derive from pir which means to bake or fry many shapes to choose from I like the one canoe shaped ones there is also another triangular version and like mines filled with mince meat and pork mince(love pork) plenty onions and eggs
of course there is yet another distant related Argentinean empanada same though but just the shape changes to the half moon shape
Ah! forgot then there is pelmeni similar to varenikies but these are filled with meat and other fillings some say that pelmenis have Mongolian origins but their name suggest old Finnish langauge. Anyway
Few recipes in www.ruscuisine.com
russianfoods.com

Edited by piazzola, 31 August 2005 - 07:00 AM.

[Tkrup]

I've got Grandma's recipe...but I ain't sharin!!

The family would lynch me.

[Hector]

yes, while the Poles call their filled pasta 'pierogi', everyone with a sense of making Pierogis outside Poland dissagrees. In Ukraine, Russia, Finland & Sweden. Pierogis are filled pies, like empanadas or Cornish pasties, and nothing boiled, pasta or dumpling like. In Finland there are good varieties filled with rice, meat and fish. Most Swedes and Finns believe Pierogs is originally from Karelaja in eastern Finland.

[Pam R]

I always get confused by Poles calling what we call varenikes and piroshky
varenikies are the Ukranian version of boiled pierogies and a national pride for Ukrainians varenikes mean boiled from the word varet'

There is also the kreple (kreplach plural. In my family we never call them perogies - but in the non-Jewish community in my city the perogy is king and that's what the general public knows them as (we have a very large Ukranian population here).

I was always told that the name refers more to the shape - the vereneke is the 1/2 circle. A kreple is a a have circle that is then folded in half and the corners are pinched together.

In our restaurant and store - Verenekes refer to potato and onion filling. Kreplach are either meat (just chicken - no pork here) or on the flip side they are also the cheese filled ones. Both these fillings originally were shaped like a kreple should be ... but we produce so many of them we got lazy and stopped.

[piazzola]

@Hector I disagree varenikies are just that the word itself means boiled and it is a traditional Ukrainian pierogy no doubt. I think you should inform yourself a bit more about your neighbour's diets

@PamR Pierogies and varenikies, pelmeni and piroshkies are traditional Slavic foods many of which have ben adopted by Jewish people who have lived mainly in what it was The Commonwealth Confederation (Poland, Ukraine, Bielorrusia, Lithuania) who have lived in harmony alongide Slavs and Germans alike and settled in the area since the 13th century

About varenikies=pierogi

Vareniky, a stuffed dumpling with its origins somewhere in the dim past, circa 500BC, are the heart and soul of Ukrainian cuisine.

This traditional Ukrainian food has been claimed by Russia, is more commonly known by its Polish name, "pirogies" and as defined item in almost all Slavic cuisines.

The earliest mention of these delectable delights is found in caravan jounals dating back to the Roman times. The Scythians & Circassians made & ate these wonderful taste treats as is documented in numerous wrings about them. We know also that the Khazars also made & ate these tasty treats. The expertise of making the dough was brought from China by the caravan traders of old "Silk Road" as they travelled to what is today Istanbul, Turkey. They passed across southern Ukraine on one of the legs of the northern route of the Silk Road.

http://www.suite101....cuisines/116554
http://images.google...ial&sa=N&tab=wi
Pelmeni
http://www.suite101....cuisines/113832
http://images.google...ial&sa=N&tab=wi
http://www.whatson-k...ews.php?id=4975

Edited by piazzola, 31 August 2005 - 03:37 PM.

[racheld]

Mrs. Kowalski, our neighbor way down South, taught me to make "varnishes" when I was a young wife and mother. That is just the way she said it, and the way we wrote it in my little recipe notebook. The dough is very similar to a gnocchi recipe I have, with a well-dried, peeled-after-boiling potato mashed into the dough. A finger-dip into warm water around one half of the circle glued the edges together for her busy, crimping fingers. (I do admit that now I have one of those handy little white plastic thingies that crimp the edges when you press the handles together).

We did several fillings: potato with chives or green onions straight from the garden. Lots of crisp-fried paper-thin onion mixed into thick mashed potatoes. Several kinds of cheese grated into the potatoes, and my favorite: shredded cabbage, essentially stir-fried (before we ever stir-fried anything else in our house)with a little garlic, with crushed caraway and coarse pepper and the odd addition of a dash or two of soy sauce, straight from the La Choy bottle.

She said that one day she ran out of salt while mixing a batch and supplemented with the salty soy. And it was delicious; I just happened to see this thread tonight, after we had our own cabbage dish prepared this way, but with bow-tie pasta stirred in just before serving. We had it with a sweet Southern chicken salad stuffed into juicy fresh tomatoes.

[Pan]

I'm enjoying this thread.

My local Polish diner, Teresa's, makes pierogis in several varieties. The regular fillings are potato (with plenty of onions, as Pam mentioned), mushroom/sauerkraut, meat, and cheese, but a regular special is spinach (creamed spinach with cottage cheese), and they have excellent fresh blueberry pierogis (also with cheese) in season. You can get any variety either boiled or fried. Fried onions are put on the side unless you prefer not to have them, and sour cream is extra but I enjoy adding a moderate amount to any variety.

I'm wondering what lekvar-filled or beet pierogis would be like. I think you can follow your own imagination or use what's available. I can imagine some good pierogis with a filling including autumn apples.

[Pam R]

I'm wondering what lekvar-filled or beet pierogis would be like. I think you can follow your own imagination or use what's available. I can imagine some good pierogis with a filling including autumn apples.

While I can't picture the beet ones, I think they may be good . The lekvar ones I definately think would be good.

When I was a kid my baba would make saskatoon-berry ones... mmm.

[piazzola]

Sweet pierogies or peroge have a slightly different type of dough

[Pam R]

Sweet pierogies or peroge have a slightly different type of dough

we always use the same dough for fruit-filled that we use for others.

[Jon Tseng]

And if you are having an etymological bunfight don't forget Pelmeny - the Russian/Siberian versions!

Also don't forget to do those lovely teeny fried cubes of pork fat to scatter on top of your pierogi once they are cooked! (obviously not the sweet ones! )

cheers

J

PS piazzola your silk road comments are quite interesting as it should be noted that Pierogi bear a startling resemblance the Chinese jiaozi dumplings.

[piazzola]

PS piazzola your silk road comments are quite interesting as it should be noted that Pierogi bear a startling resemblance the Chinese jiaozi dumplings.

Well you know Ghengis Khan attacks on China originated from The Baikal lake http://www.baikal.ea...ru/baikalfacts/ area and it is said that some form of dumplings when with them to China and westwards with his troops all the way to Europe some of his troops and entourage stayed on in Kalmykia region http://www.bobiverso...kia/gallery.htm
Russians sometime fry pelmeni in vinegar pierogi(Polish) or perohy (Western Ukrainian) or varenikies are slghtly different as stated above

[takomabaker]

I have a question that has been bothering me forever...

My grandmother was Lithuanian. She passed away a few years ago (sadly, I still miss her desperately), but she made pierogis but she called them piroshkis. They seemed like basically the same thing that I eat in New York at Polish restaurants. Is there a difference a pierogi and a piroshki, or is it a regional pronunciation? Someone told me it was the Russian pronunciation and asked me if my grandmother could have been of Russian descent, but she was 100% Lithuanian.

She also made a meat dumpling that had thinner dough and was rounder. It had ground beef, bacon, and onions in it and I know she used LOTS of bacon grease and sour cream for the sauce. Does anyone know that this is? It was SSSOOOO good!!!

Edited to add that I saw the post about Piroshkies vs. Pierogi (I missed it in my first scan), but can I assume then that the only "true" difference is if the dumplings are boiled or fried? I had a Polish friend tell me that it would not be appreciated in a Polish retaurant to order Piroshkies. Why, if the terms are almost interchangable?

Edited by takomabaker, 12 September 2005 - 11:58 AM.

[Pam R]

Edited to add that I saw the post about Piroshkies vs. Pierogi (I missed it in my first scan), but can I assume then that the only "true" difference is if the dumplings are boiled or fried? I had a Polish friend tell me that it would not be appreciated in a Polish retaurant to order Piroshkies. Why, if the terms are almost interchangable?

Something tells me there's gonna be more than one answer to this one...

My grandmother (polish/jewish) used to make pirishkes - but they were more like a filled bun - not a dumpling.

[Pan]

[...]Is there a difference a pierogi and a piroshki, or is it a regional pronunciation? Someone told me it was the Russian pronunciation[....]I had a Polish friend tell me that it would not be appreciated in a Polish retaurant to order Piroshkies. Why, if the terms are almost interchangable?

I think you sort of answered your own question. If it is a Russian word or they think it is, there's a lot of historical baggage there.

Edited by Pan, 12 September 2005 - 09:53 PM.

[easternsun]

After ten years of asking I recently received the family perogy recipe My (Step) Grandmother is Ukranian and makes potato/cottage cheese or potato/onion perogies. She boils them and puts them in a casserole dish with what must be a pound of melted butter and green onion. They are swimming in the stuff! I was in my twenties before I discovered they could also be fried.

I cant share the recipe but I will say that the "special ingredient" is Cream of Tartar.

[anzu]

She also made a meat dumpling that had thinner dough and was rounder. It had ground beef, bacon, and onions in it and I know she used LOTS of bacon grease and sour cream for the sauce. Does anyone know that this is? It was SSSOOOO good!!!

I think you're speaking of koldunai.
I don't have exact quantities, but the dough is flour and egg. For 'one glass' (about three quarters of a standard measuring cup???) of flour, add one whole egg and two egg yolks as well as salt. If additional moisture is needed, use onion juice. Don't add water for extra moisture. Roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin (about 1 mm thickness).

Filling: ground beef, bacon (one quarter of the entire filling quantity), onion that has been reduced to a paste in a food processor (should be smooth in texture), egg, marjoram, black pepper.

For the sauce (again, no exact quantities), bacon, chopped onion, sour cream, salt. Render the bacon, add chopped onion and fry, then stir in sour cream and salt.

If you make it, I'm sure it would qualify for the stuffed pasta cook-off!

Source: W. W. Pochljobkin Nationale Kuchen: Die Kochkunst der sowjetischen Volker (National Cuisine: the cooking of the Soviet Peoples). This is the German translation of a book originally written in Russian and printed in 1978. It's out of print and, as far as I know, has never been translated into English. This is a pity, as it covers a lot of ground - recipes from all the main ethnic groups that were in the USSR, and which most other books don't cover, such as Moldavian, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, and Tajiki recipes, etc. I'm really having fun working through this book.

In the Russian section of this book, there are about 18 different piroshki fillings listed, as well as 8 different types of dough. More on those later, when I have more time.

Re Piazzola's earlier comment on the etymology of the name 'pirog' and 'piroshki'. I had rather been under the impression that the jury was still out on this one, and that there is also the view that it may derive from Old Slavic 'pir' meaning feast or merriment.

Edited by anzu, 13 September 2005 - 01:37 AM.

[Angeline7270]

I add sour cream to my pierogi dough and cut down on the eggs. It makes the dough less tough when you fry them in butter and onions after they are boiled.

[Jack Sprat]

My first attempt at pierogies was semi-successful. Made two kinds - goat cheese/tarragon and mushroom. The good news was that the pierogies stayed 100% intact through boiling and then pan-frying in butter. The bad news is that the dough was a little tough. It was hard to roll out b/c it was so non-malleable. The thinner I was able to roll the dough the better the pierogies turned out, but it seemed like too much work compared to what it should be.

I slightly modified a tyler florence recipe: 5 cups flour, 1/4 stick melted butter (down from 1/2 stick), 4 large eggs, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup plain yogurt (substituted for sour cream).

Obviously I was trying to make the original recipe a little healthier and maybe that screwed things up. I mean, I have no problems frying the pierogies up in some butter, but eggs, melted butter AND sour cream in the dough too? Is all that really necessary? I felt like the butter and eggs in particular could actually have caused the problems with the tough dough.

Seeking alternate recipes and/or advice. First attempt shown below.

Edited by Jack Sprat, 30 December 2007 - 06:29 AM.

[Meridian]

One "secret" way of getting a soft dough is to add 1/2 cup or so of mashed potatoes to the dough. These will keep the dough soft.

Some people like the dough rubbery and some more delicate. Your pierogies (also Pyrohy or Varenyky) look pretty good for your first effort.

[Pam R]

I did a demo on meat kreplach here. Same idea, different name. Just skip the last step in forming them - pinching the two tips together.

Anyway, when I make my dough, it's always tender, even silky. And easy. I love your filling idea . . need to experiment.