Is My Blog Burning? You're Just the Cutest Little Dumpling!

A Cultural Connection with the past:  Polish Pierogies
Click on the link to see Sauerkraut and Onion and Sweet Cheese Polish Pierogies:  http://radio.weblogs.com/0129838/images/Pierogis.8.22.04.jpg

Dumpling. That simple word evokes memories of my Grandmother. Her kitchen, her chicken soup and those delicious little doughy dumplings that made the chicken soup worth eating. Or was it my Mom’s kitchen? It doesn’t matter; the dumplings had that Old World Polish cookery style that is all about homey comforts, satisfying goodness and love.

Naturally, I thought these dumplings were a sure thing for this blog burning event. And off I went into my Polish Heritage and Old World Cooking cookbooks to find anything that might resemble Grandma’s dumplings. You can imagine my surprise to discover that the pierogi – perhaps the best know representative of Polish cookery – is also classified as a dumpling! The pierogi is nothing more than a filled dumpling or a dough pocket. Who knew?!! But best of all, pierogies are the centerpiece of one of my family’s beloved Christmas traditions… the Wiglia meal. There was no choice. I had to make pierogies.

My Mom and my Grandma are great resources for technique and pierogi making style. (I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I’ve never made them!) But recipes? My mother’s pierogies are more akin to crepes, than dumplings, and Grandma only ever cooks by the "some of this, a bit of that" method. I had to track down something that I could adopt and adapt to become the new family standard recipe – the one that my Grandmother (now in her 90’s!) made famous, but never bothered to write down.

I borrowed from three recipes in my Polish Heritage Cookery cookbook, checked the method against the only pierogi recipe in Martha Stewart’s The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, and finally took to heart the advice found on the internet in Helen Dyrkaz’s pierogi recipe. Then, I called for reinforcements.

My mom (and Dad) trekked to the mid-State to assist (too bad they left the Bobby Vinton CDs at home). We consulted the research, read the recipes and talked about how they should taste. We contemplated the fillings, settling on a traditional sauerkraut and onion and the sweet cheese filling my Mom uses in her crepes. We rolled up our sleeves and went to work.

In the end, we recreated the long absent tradition from our Holiday gatherings – classic pierogies, and in the process discovered a marvelously smooth and silky dough with terrific flavor. It is easy to work with and perfect for pierogi making – or I might add any dumpling effort! When my Dad – our official taste tester – gave his approval, it felt as if we had reconnected with a bit of our cultural past. And what a legacy to continue! My Grandma will be very pleased.

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Life in Flow

Sauerkraut and Onion Pierogi Filling
1 lb. bag sauerkraut
2 tablespoons butter
1 small Vidalia onion
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Sweet Cheese Pierogi Filling
1 lb. ground farmer cheese (or Dry Flake Cottage Cheese, also known as Pot Cheese), drained one hour in a colander lined with cheese cloth
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
salt

Special equipment needed:
Cut and seal (from The Pampered Chef)

Make the Pierogi Dough:
Using a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment (a dough hook would work well here, too), whip together the egg, milk sour cream and water until well combined. Add the flour, a little at a time and mix until combined and the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, up to 10 minutes. Incorporate more flour if the dough is too sticky. Roll the dough into a ball, and let it rest under a warm inverted bowl, about 20 minutes.

Prepare the fillings:
Sauerkraut and Onion:
Drain and lightly rinse the sauerkraut (rinsing reduces the sharpness of the kraut). Finely chop the onions.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the sauerkraut and sugar; stir to combine. Continue to sauté until the sauerkraut and onions begin to caramelize, taking on a golden brown color, about 10 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

Sweet Cheese:
In a medium bowl, combine the cheese with sugar, egg and vanilla. Add salt (to bring sweetness into balance).

Make the Pierogies:
Take 1/3 of the dough (leaving the rest of the dough beneath the bowl) and roll out thin, about 1/16" but no thicker than 1/8", long strip. When rolled, the dough should be sufficiently wide to fold over, in half. This is how you will form your pierogi once you place the filling inside. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on the top half of the dough strip, spacing at least 2" apart, leaving sufficient room to cut and seal the pierogies.

Lift the lower half of the dough up over the filling so the filling is nestled right along the fold and lightly press the air out around the mound of filling. This will seal the filling in the dough. Using the Press ‘n Seal cutter, place half of the cutter over the dough centering the covered mound of filling. Cut and seal the dough into a half moon shape. Move the pierogies to a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat until all the dough and filling is used.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When you are ready to cook the pierogi, gently drop small batches of pierogi into the water. When the boiling resumes reduce heat and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. (It’s a good idea to do a test pierogi and adjust your cooking time accordingly. For thicker dough, simmering time will be longer).

Remove to a colander with a large slotted spoon and rinse lightly with cold water. Remove back on to the parchment lined baking sheets to freeze or to hold, if you are serving that day.

To freeze, put cooked pierogi on baking sheet lined with parchment paper in freezer until frozen. Place pierogies in a freezer bag or storage container. My guess is, these will be best if used within 3 months.

To serve, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling stops. Add pierogies and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove to a platter and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.