Gold Medal Meals: Pierogi

When I was in college, my Broadcast News teacher was David Hazinski. At the end of the school year, he would host a party at his house, complete with authentic Polish sausage and pierogi made by nuns at a convent in Pittsburgh. So imagine his dismay when one year he found out the nuns had retired from the pierogi making business, and he had to find them somewhere else.

For those who don't know, pierogi are basically Polish dumplings, which can be filled with all sorts of things, from the traditional potato to meat to fruit and other desserts.

Well, I have a little idea now what those nuns went through to make their culinary art, and I will admit, this recipe does not really fit into my goal of easy-to-make dishes. It was definitely labor intensive, but good things are worth the effort, right? I did a simple online search, and when I saw one that mentioned Pittsburgh, I had to go with that in honor of Hazinski and the nuns.

Now my pierogi were surely not as good as the ones the nuns made, but they were pretty good. And they marked another country off the list in my Olympic tour of dinners.

Ingredients
2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
Butter and onions for cooking


Filling:
5 large potatoes cut into pieces
1 onion
8 oz shredded cheese
2 tbsp butter

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add beaten egg, sour cream and butter to flour mixture. Mix until a good dough forms, but don't overdo it. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 20-30 minutes.

Boil cut up potatoes in a large pot until fork tender. While the potatoes are cooking, chop onions finely and saute in butter. When potatoes are done, drain and mash. Mix in cooked onions and cheese. Let mixture cool. I also added some salt, pepper, parsley and garlic powder just for a little extra flavor. You can tweak however you want.

On a flour-dusted surface, roll out dough until about 1/8" thick. Using a cookie cutter or a drinking glass cut out circles depending on how big you want. Make about one-inch balls of filling and wrap inside a circle of dough. If the edges don't seal, moisten with a little water. A good seal is very important, or else you'll wind up with empty pierogi.

This picture is of a double batch, which is about 30-35 pierogi. I made them last night so they'd be ready to go for dinner tonight. I made about half of them and plan to freeze the rest for another day. If I were to make them again in the future, I would put them in single layers separated by wax paper, as they tend to stick together and then tear a little as you pull them apart.

When it's time to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, place the pierogi in the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. They'll float to the top. Let them dry and cool.

In a large pan, saute half a chopped onion in some butter. Working in batches, cook in the butter and onions until brown and a little crispy.

Apparently the traditional accompaniment is sour cream, which is a good combo. They may not look like much, but these little fried carb balls are quite filling.

I served mine up with some sauteed carrots for a little color.

Again, these may not meet with Hazinski's approval, and they're certainly nothing like the nuns made, but it was definitely a fun experience. I would like to experiment more with different flavors in the future, especially the dessert versions. It's also given me confidence to try my hand at ravioli, as I've long wanted to do. Smacznego! That's Polish for bon appetit!