Pierogi

Makes: 20  

Calories: 71

Carbs: 10 g  

Fiber: 0.1 g

Protein: 3 g

Cost: $0.21

Grade: C-

1. DOUGH (DOUGH HOOK KNEAD 5 minutes)

   • • 250 g AP flour

     • 140 g hot water 

     • 20 g butter

     • 1/2 teaspoon salt

2. FILLING (FRY, COOL then BLITZ to fine meal)

   • • 120 g ground beef

     • 1 T oil

     • 100 g onion

     • 75 g mushrooms

     • 75 g cabbage

     • 10 g green onion

     • 2 cloves garlic

     • 1/2 teaspoon thyme

     • 1/4 teaspoon marjoram

     • 1/8 t white pepper

     • 1/4 cup beef broth

     • 1/4 t salt

     • 1/4 t Aleppo peppers

     • pepper

3. The BUILD

   • • Roll out the first part of the dough on a lightly floured surface (I like silicone rolling mats). Cut out rounds with pierogi cutter/biscuit cutter/a glass. The dough should be rolled out thinly. If the dough is hard to roll out, set it aside for about 5-10 minutes to rest.

     • Gather scraps, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

     • Scoop some filling with a teaspoon and pinch it with your fingers so it’s more compact. Place some of the filling on each round.

     • Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Press edges together, sealing and crimping with your fingers.

     • Place the pierogi apart on a towel lightly sprinkled with flour, cover loosely with a kitchen cloth so they don‘t dry out.

     • Repeat with the remaining dough.

4. THE COOK:

   • • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

     • Cook the pierogi in batches (for a 8-inch (21 cm) pot I cook about 10-12 dumplings at a time). When they float to the water surface cook them for 1 minute, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the dough, you may want to try cooking them for 2 minutes for thicker dough.

5. Drain well and transfer onto a plate.

6. CHEESE SAUCE OPTION

   • 30 g butter

   • 120 g milk

   • 1/4 cup broth

   • 45 g parmesan, grated

   • S&P

7. Optional step: pan-frying pierogi. These pierogi taste best pan-fried so after you have boiled them you can add them to hot clarified butter (or oil) in a pan and cook on both sides until golden brown and crispy.

   • • Enjoy!

     • You could also add sauteed mushrooms to the filling.

     • Serving suggestions:

     • a great topping for these pierogi: sauteed onions, crispy bacon, and sour cream

     • a great sauce to serve with these pierogi is a simple cheese sauce – completely not traditional but I ate it once served with meat pierogi in a restaurant in Poland and now won’t have them any other way

     • what do you need:2 tablespoons butter2 teaspoons flour1/2 cup milk1/4 cup chicken broth1/2 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheesesalt and pepper to taste

     • how to make it: melt the butter in a pan or medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk until combined, cook for 1 minute at low heat. Add milk and broth, whisk to combine, and bring to a gentle boil. Add parmesan cheese and cook until melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

     • The amount of pierogi: based on the feedback that I got from readers, the amount of pierogi you’ll get from this recipe can vary greatly! My pierogi are rather small and I like to pack them with a lot of filling, that’s why I got 40 pierogi from this recipe. This may be different for you and you can get only half of this amount.

     • Storage and freezing instructions can be found in the body of the post.