Pierogi (Cheese and Potato)

A "classic" pierogi recipe.

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Course Appetizer, Dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Polish

Ingredients

Dough

2 cups King Arthur All-Puspose Flour
½ tsp Sea salt
1 Large egg, beaten and whisked
½ cup Cultured sour cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Filling

1 cup Mashed Russet potatoes
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup Extra sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
¼ tsp White Pepper, finely ground
½ Vidalia or yellow onion finely diced

Assembly, cooking and serving

Large pot of salted boiling water
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp Unsalted butter
½ cup Scallions thinly sliced on the bias
2 Shallots thinly sliced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ tsp sea salt

Instructions

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flour and salt.
Bring the butter to just melted, don't get it too hot.
Add the egg to the sour cream and whisk well, then add the butter, again whisking well.
With the mixer running at low medium speed, pour in the wet ingredients and mix until all are incorporated and you have a nice dough ball. This will be a moist dough.
Pour out the dough on a clean floured surface and knead the dough. You should feel a moist dough, but not sticky.
Once you have a shiny dough ball, wrap it in plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Filling

Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces roughly.
In a sauce pan place the potatoes and water until just covering. Sprinkle in the salt and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer until the potatoes are fork tender and fully cooked.
Remove from the heat and pour off the water (save the potato water as you may need a little as you make the filling, but it can also be used for soups and stews).
Mash the potatoes well, then let them cool until warm but not hot. Then add the cheddar, pepper, onion and mix well.
Set aside the filling until it cools to at least room temperature. You can make the filling the day ahead and refrigerate, but bring to RT when you make the pierogi.

Assembly, cooking and serving

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 3 or 4 pieces. For those pieces you are not immediately working with, keep in the covered bowl.
using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it fits a pasta maker.* Then roll to about 2 mm in thickness, about a 4 setting on my pasta maker.
Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut dough circles.
Add 2-3 tsp of filling, moisten the edges of the dough circle and fold over the dough to make a half moon shape.
Seal the edge well. Then using the tines of a fork make a decorative edge, which further seals the pierogi. Place the finished pierogi on a parchment covered cookie sheet.
Fill a large pot with water and add salt (it should taste like the sea in my opinion), and bring to a boil. You want a pot big enough to fit about 5-10 pierogi without crowding.
When the pierogi raise to the surface leave them for another 30 seconds then remove with a Spider Strainer and place them in a strainer.**
Using a large skillet add the butter and EVOO (in a 1:1 ratio) over medium low-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the pierogi and fry until just golden brown.
Add more butter/EVOO if necessary.
Remove the fried pierogi, place on paper towels, then serve. Sprinkle them with carmalized shallots (see recipe below) and sliced scallions. Also place a dollop of sour cream (or homemade yogurt) on top as well.

Notes

*As I have said at other times, I find the pasta maker to be a very important and versatile tool in my kitchen. I have rolled out pasta, dough for all kinds of dumplings, cookies and for other uses. Using the pasta maker makes the dough uniform, and then the cookie cutter a uniform diameter for the pierogi.

**Use a large colander to drain. At this point you can freeze the pierogi to save for later, place them in a soup, eat them without frying, fry them or bake them.

Keyword pierogi, Polish pierogi

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