Pierogi Ruskie Food

PIEROGI RUSKIE (POTATO AND CHEESE PIEROGI)

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Add the flour and salt to a large bowl; whisk to combine. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water and the butter over medium-high until butter is melted, about 3 minutes. Pour the buttery liquid into the flour gradually, stirring it in as you add it. (The dough will be quite crumbly and flaky at this point, like a biscuit dough.) Stir in the egg until combined then move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Cover the dough with a dampened towel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Prepare the filling: Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Add them to a large pot, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high and continue to cook at a simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
• While the potatoes cook, prepare the onions: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high. Add the onions, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown and softened, about 12 minutes. Set aside about 1 cup of onions for garnish and add the rest to a medium bowl.
• Transfer the cooked potatoes to a colander to drain, then transfer to the medium bowl with the onions. Add the cheese, stir to combine, season generously with salt and pepper, then let cool.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high.
• Prepare the wrappers: Cut the dough into two even pieces. (You'll want to leave one piece under the towel to stay moist while you work with the other piece.) You'll also want a small bowl of flour, a small bowl of water and a towel handy for keeping your hands clean. Dust some flour onto a baking sheet (for holding the pierogi) and your work surface, then roll out one portion of dough until 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter or inverted glass, punch 12 to 15 disks of dough. (Save and refrigerate the scraps to boil as a rustic pasta, in soup or another use.)
• Assemble the pierogi: Working with one disk at time, spoon a scant tablespoon of filling onto the middle of it. Fold the dough in half to enclose the filling, bringing the edges together to form a crescent shape. Pinch the two sides together at the top, then work your way down on both sides, pinching the dough over the filling and pushing in the filling as needed, making sure the potato mixture does not break the seal. If needed, you can dip your fingertip into water and moisten the dough in spots as needed to help the two sides adhere together.
• To form a rustic pattern on the curved seal, pinch the rounded rim underneath using your pointer finger and middle finger and press an indentation on top with your thumb, working your way along the rounded rim. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. (If you've gotten some filling on your fingers, dip your fingertips into the bowl of water then dry them off on the towel.)
• Repeat with remaining disks, then repeat the entire process with the remaining portion of dough. You'll want to work fairly quickly, as the pierogi can be harder to seal if they start to dry out. (If cooking the pierogi at a later point, transfer them on the baking sheet to the freezer until frozen solid, then transfer the pierogi to a resealable bag and freeze.)
• To cook the pierogi, add a single layer of pierogi to the pot of boiling water. Let them cook until they rise to the surface, about 2 minutes, then cook another 2 to 3 minutes until puffy. (With frozen dumplings, you will need to increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes.) Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked dumplings to a colander to drain, then boil remaining dumplings.
• If you want to pan-fry your pierogi, working in batches, melt 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high until crackling. Add a few boiled pierogi in a single layer to avoid overcrowding, and cook until crisp and golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining pierogi, adding butter as needed.
• Serve hot. Top with any browned butter from the pan, warmed reserved onions, sour cream and herbs.

PIEROGI

Steps:

• First, make the crispy shallots. Heat the oil in a saucepan to 180C (a cube of bread will turn golden in 15 secs). Toss the shallots in a little flour and deep-fry for 1 min or until light golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper. Can be made up to two days before and kept in an airtight container.
• To make the filling, heat the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan and gently fry the shallots for 10 mins until starting to turn golden.
• Add the sauerkraut and cabbage, and cook for 5-10 mins until the cabbage has softened. Taste and add a little salt if under-seasoned, or sugar if stringent. Scrape into a bowl and leave to cool completely.
• To make the dough, mix the eggs and oil with 125ml water, then gradually add in the flour, mixing well with your hands. Knead it on a well-floured surface until the dough stops sticking to your hands. You should end up with firm, elastic dough. Wrap it in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins, or overnight.
• Flour your work surface generously. Roll out the dough to a 40cm circle or until the dough is as thick as £1 coin.
• Using a 9cm cookie cutter, cut out discs in the dough - you should end up with about 25 discs. Do not throw away the off-cuts - we throw them in with the pierogi when boiling to minimise any waste.
• Have a well-floured tray ready. Put 1 tsp of the filling into the centre of each disc. In your hand, fold in half around the filling and seal to create half-moon shapes. Put them on the floured tray, making sure they don't touch each other.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and carefully lower the pierogi in. Boil them for 2 mins or until they float to the top.
• Drain and serve with a knob of butter and some soured cream. Finish by sprinkling the crispy shallots on top to serve.

RUSKIE PIEROGI (PIEROGI WITH CHEESE & POTATO FILLING)

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients listed under filling and refrigerate until ready to assemble pierogi.
• Combine flour, salt and butter in food processor.
• In a separate bowl, blend together egg, egg yolk, milk and sour cream.
• Add egg mixture to flour mixture and process until dough cleans sides of bowl and sticks together (the dough will be slightly sticky).
• Remove from processor, shape into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 3 hours or overnight.
• Cut dough into thirds; roll each section out on floured surface into 12" round.
• Cut each round into 8 (3") circles (using a glass works well).
• Place about 2 tsp filling on 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.
• In large pot, bring salted water to boil.
• Cook 12 pierogi at a time, reducing heat to a gentle boil; boil until pierogi float to the surface (about 5 minutes).
• Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towel and transfer to serving dish.
• Repeat with remaining pierogi.
• At this point you can serve them warm, freeze them for later use or fry them in butter over medium heat, lightly browning both sides before serving.