Pierogi Filling Food

PIEROGI FILLING

Steps:

• For the Cabbage Filling: cut the cabbage into quarters. Steam until very tender, about 15 minutes; drain and cool. Wrap cooled cabbage in a towel, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Simmer finely chopped onions in butter and chicken broth until the onion is translucent - add the cooled cabbage salt and pepper. Let simmer until heated. Stir in the cream cheese and dill (or substitute caraway seeds if you prefer).
• Instant Potato and Cheese Filling: Sautee the onion and butter in a small pot until the onion is translucent. Add enough water based on the instant mashed potato package directions (I would guess but every brand is different) and add the chives. Once the water has boiled, remove the pot from the heat and add the potato flakes, cheese and cream cheese.
• Ground beef filling: In a large frying pan, simmer the finely chopped onions in the butter and cook until the onions are translucent. Prepare the ground beef by combining and kneading it with the hunter's seasoning (see below). Add it to the onion mixture, chopping it with your spatula so it doesn't cook together. Cook until all of the pink is gone.
• Hunter's seasoning recipe: Make as much or as little as you want using this ratio. This will make more than the 3 tablespoons amount, but I don't know what the ratio would be for exactly that amount. I always make a jar full and keep it on hand since it's a good general meat seasoning for beef or poultry. 2 teaspoons Marjoram, 1 teaspoons peppercorn, 1 teaspoons caraway, ½ teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoons Allspice to taste, Cloves to taste, 1 crushed bay leaf, 1 teaspoons Juniper berries (A difficult thing to find, you can substitute this by adding a few shots of gin to the ground beef while kneading; gives it a great flavor and all the alcohol will cook out).

PIEROGI

Steps:

• Make a well from the flour. Add eggs and about 1/2 cup of water. The amount of water will vary according to the weather. You want to make a stiff dough. Divide it into 3 equal portions and knead until silky smooth.
• Fillings: We usually make cheese and kapusta (sauerkraut), but you can use meat, potatoes, or even fruit.
• Saute onion in butter until just soft. Add kapusta and brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow time for the filling to cool before assembling pierogi, otherwise they will fall apart when cooked. If making more than one filling, this one can cool while you prepare the others.
• Mix well.
• To assemble and cook pierogi: Roll out a portion (or half portion, if space is limited) of the dough on a floured surface as thinly as possible -- somewhere between a wonton and a thin pizza. Put about a tablespoon of filling on the dough and use a large plastic cup (a big gulp-type cup works really well) to cut a circle around the filling. Dampen half of the circumference of the circle with a bit of water on your finger and fold into a dumpling. Boil the dumplings a dozen at a time in a big pot of salted water until they float -- no more than 3 minutes. At this point you can freeze them in bags for later use. To prepare for serving, brown the pierogi in a skillet using a bit of butter. If you want to be really traditional you can use bacon grease. Alternately, you can bake them in a casserole, spraying both the casserole and the pierogi with a butter flavored spray, and putting a few pats of butter on top of the dumplings.

POLISH PIEROGI (CHEESE FILLING)

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients listed under filling and refrigerate until ready to assemble pierogi.
• Combine the ingredients listed under dough and knead until well blended (dough should be somewhat dry and about the consistency of play-doh, you can knead in more flour if needed).
• Twist off workable portions of dough and roll out very thin on a floured surface.
• Using a glass with a thin lip, dip lip of glass in flour and cut circles out of the dough.
• Place about 2 tsp filling in the center of each dough circle.
• Moisten outer edges with water and fold dough over to close.
• Seal edges by pressing gently with the back of a fork or pinching together with your fingers.
• Cook 12 pierogi at a time, reducing heat to a gentle boil; boil, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom, until pierogi float to the surface (about 5 minutes).
• Rinse in cold water, then drizzle melted butter or vegetable oil over dough to keep from sticking.
• Repeat with remaining pierogi.
• At this point you can serve them warm, freeze them for later use, deep fry them until golden brown or pan fry them in butter with onions over medium heat, lightly browning both sides before serving.

POTATO-COTTAGE CHEESE FILLING (PIEROGI FILLING)

Steps:

• Cook onion in butter or margarine till tender. Combine with potatoes, dill, salt and dash pepper. Stir in cottage cheese.

POLISH PIEROGI (SAUERKRAUT & MEAT FILLING)

Steps:

• Fry meat to desired doneness and set aside.
• Mix remaining filling ingredients and fry for about five minutes.
• Combine mixture with meat and refrigerate until ready to assemble pierogi.
• Combine the ingredients listed under dough and knead until well blended (dough should be somewhat dry and about the consistency of play-doh, you can knead in more flour if needed).
• Twist off workable portions of dough and roll out very thin on a floured surface.
• Using a glass with a thin lip and a diameter of about 3.
• 5 inches, dip lip of glass in flour and cut circles out of the dough.
• Place about 2 tsp filling in the center of each dough circle.
• Moisten outer edges with water and fold dough over to close.
• Seal edges by pressing gently with the back of a fork or pinching together with your fingers.
• Cook 12 pierogi at a time, reducing heat to a gentle boil; boil, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom, until pierogi float to the surface (about 5 minutes).
• Rinse in cold water, then drizzle melted butter or vegetable oil over dough to keep from sticking.
• Repeat with remaining pierogi.
• At this point you can serve them warm, freeze them for later use, deep fry them until golden brown or pan fry them in butter with onions over medium heat, lightly browning both sides before serving.

SAUERKRAUT FILLING (PIEROGI FILLING)

Steps:

• Heat oil in skillet; add onion and mushrooms(optional). Cook till vegetables are tender, but not brown. Stir in sauerkraut, salt and pepper; cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Cool slightly.