Pierogi Two Ways

Potato Filling

Fill large pot with water and add diced potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook about 20 minutes or until pieces easily pierced with a fork.

Drain water and let potatoes cool for 5 minutes.

Mash potatoes and combine with 1/4 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp butter, and 2 Tbsp cream cheese.

Cover and set aside until ready to roll.

"Meat" Filling

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add finely chopped onions and sauté until slightly translucent, then add vegan ground meat and shredded carrot. Cook until slightly browned.

Set aside and let cool until ready to roll.

Pierogi Dough

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, whisk together warm water (1 cup), milk (1/4 cup), plain yogurt (2 Tbsp), an egg, and salt (1 tsp) until blended.

Gradually mix in flour, starting with 2 cups, then 1/2 a cup at a time. Knead for about 10 minutes. You should now have a solid round of dough.

Assembly

Cut dough into 4 equal pieces.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of dough. Try to get it about 1/8" thickness, but if it's a little thicker it'll work just fine.

Use a 3" diameter round cookie cutter, mug, or small bowl to cut circles from the dough. Take the cut round and place 1/2 Tbsp of filling in the center. Fold one side of the round on to the other, encircling the filling. Tightly pinch together the edges to seal.

Keep the dough scraps to roll out again and make more rounds.

Pierogi can be cooked right away or frozen and kept in the freezer for later.

Cooking

Fill a large pot with water, lightly salted. Bring the water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add pierogi, about 5 at a time, to the water.

Once they start to float, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes and prepare a lightly oiled skillet for frying them.

Fry each dumpling for 3-5 minutes per side, or until slightly browned.

Every culture has their version of food stuffed into some form of dough. We sadistically enjoy spending hours wrapping filling in dough. One of our first home cooked meals together was making dumplings for Chuck's first Quon family dinner.

Pierogi are an iconic piece of Poland's food culture and Poland is the single geographical overlap between our respective heritages, though neither of us had adventured to try making them before. For our first foray into pierogi making, we borrowed a recipe from our friend Lana's Polish grandma. Our next attempt we made them with our empanada expert friends over Zoom (a sign of the times). We're always working on optimizing our dough recipe, but this one seemed to work pretty well.

Thanks for the tips Natasha's Kitchen!