Mockpierogi Recipes

HOMEMADE POLISH PIEROGI

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk eggs, water and salt until blended; gradually stir in flour. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead 10-12 times, forming a firm dough. Cover and let rest 10 minutes., For filling, in a small bowl, whisk egg, salt, sugar and pepper. Stir in cheese., Divide dough into 4 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/8-in. thickness; cut with a floured 4-in. round cookie cutter. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each circle. Moisten edges with water; fold in half and press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. , In a 6-qt. stockpot, bring water to a boil. Add pierogi in batches; reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until pierogi float to the top and are tender, 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon., In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add pierogi in batches; cook until golden brown, 1-3 minutes on each side, adding additional butter as necessary. If desired, serve with sour cream and chives.

MOCK PIEROGI

Steps:

• Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and add cheese and butter. Mash until smooth like thick mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Add a little milk if needed.
• Lightly flour a cookie sheet.
• Using one wonton skin, put one teaspoon of filling into center. Use water to wet two sides of the skin.
• Fold over and seal lightly with a fork; place on cookie sheet.
• Repeat until all the wonton skins are used. Place half of the won tons, in a single layer and not touching, into the freezer.
• Simmer the half cup of butter and onion over low heat until onions are translucent.
• Boil pierogi for about three minutes; drain. Serve with the fried onions.
• Place the frozen pierogi in an air tight bag. To use, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook them for about 7 minutes. Serve with a fresh batch of fried onions.

LAZY PIEROGI

Steps:

• Place the sauerkraut and onion in a large skillet over medium-low heat with enough water to cover. Simmer 1 hour, or until most of the water has cooked off.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In a medium skillet over medium heat, saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the butter for about 5 minutes.
• Stir the remaining butter, cooked pasta, and cream of mushroom soup into the sauerkraut mixture. Cook and stir 15 minutes, or until heated through.

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.