Daring Cooks August Challenge: Pierogis

pictures to be added tonight

August’s Daring Cooks Challenge: Pierogis

I chose to make savory piergois: potato, cheese and bacon!

Blog-checking lines:

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Making the dough and filling:

Russian style pierogi (makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings)

Dough:

2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour

1 large egg

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Instructions:

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes. (I doubled this recipe so I could freeze extras).



Potato, Cheese & Bacon Filling:

4 table spoons butter (60 g) or olive oil (60 ml)

1 ½ cup instant potatoes (I know I’m lazy, but it’s much easier- you can use leftover real mashed potatoes)

3 slices of fried bacon, crumbled

3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon milk

1 egg white (from medium egg)

½ cup cheddar cheese

salt and pepper



Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it’s best to use one’s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it. (FYI- this made at least four times as much as I needed, next time I would make 1/4th of this recipe for the pierogi dough recipe above).







Assembling the pierogis:

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters).



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Cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass.



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Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle.



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Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Be careful to get as little filling on the edges as possible, they may burst if they are not totally sealed. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

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(side note: I had trouble putting a whole teaspoon in my dough circle [which were actually 2.5 inches wide], I probably put about ½ teaspoon in each. I wish I could have fit more since mine were a little flat but I had trouble sealing it all in).



Cooking the pierogis:

Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat.

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When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.

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I chose to pan fry my pierogis after I boiled them. To do this, I put them on a rack after I took them out of the boiling water and refrigerated them for about an hour. I then heated up the cast iron skillet to medium, put 2-3 tablespoons of oil in the pan let that heat up, then placed them in a single layer and flipped them every few minutes until they were crispy enough.

We served them with tomato dipping sauce (kind of like fried raviolis).

I had an extra 25 pierogis so I placed them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they were frozen, I put them in a quart size bag and put them in the freezer. When I want them again I will just boil them as I did with the fresh batch, ensuring that I put them in frozen (apparently if you thaw them out they will turn into a clumpy mess).

Potato, Cheese & Bacon Pierogi Recipe:



Dough:

2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour

1 large egg

1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Instructions:

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes. (I doubled this recipe so I could freeze extras).



Potato, Cheese & Bacon Filling:

4 table spoons butter (60 g) or olive oil (60 ml)

1 ½ cup instant potatoes (I know I’m lazy, but it’s much easier- you can use leftover real mashed potatoes)

3 slices of fried bacon, crumbled

3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon milk

1 egg white (from medium egg)

½ cup cheddar cheese

salt and pepper



Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it’s best to use one’s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it. (FYI- this made at least four times as much as I needed, next time I would make 1/4th of this recipe for the pierogi dough recipe above).

Making the Pierogis:

1. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters).

2. Cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass.

3. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle.

4. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat.

6. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.

7. Pan fry if you please (make sure they are cold first).



Final thoughts: I really enjoyed this challenge. I’ve always loved pierogis and was always too scared to try to make them. I enjoyed the process of making them, I thought it would be stressful but it wasn’t at all. They turned out really well and I am glad I learned to make something new!