Russian Pierogies / Pierogi Ruskie
April 9th, 2020
Russian Pierogies as they go by, were my favorite above all out of the variations as a kid. Mom would spend a whole day making them. Freeze them and feed us for days with them. She made them all. Russian, which are the cheese/potato ones, meat pierogies, cabbage pierogies, mushroom pierogies, blueberry sweet pierogies and strawberry pierogies.
48 years later I finally gather up enough stamina to try my own. Always feared the work and the dough process, but since free time is in abundance I figured why not...
Talk about a cheap meal. Potatoes, buttermilk, flower, a few eggs. Takes time, but it is not as bad as I feared.
I should name them Coronogies for the famous year of 2020 when we all had to stay at home and learn to cook.
And the results are amazing. This made me 4 full cutting boards of pierogies. My life is complete.
Do not let the name confuse you. They might be called Russian Pierogi but they are not Russian. They come from a region in the Carpathian Mountains. This region belongs to Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. Would translate to Ruthenian or Rusyn pierogi.
In Poland this regions is known as Galicja.
How to guide:
Filling
5 to 6 Russet potatoes
10 oz of white cheese/home made. Or use cottage cheese if you need to cheat and are short on time. We don't judge here.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp to 2 tsp crushed black pepper
Dough
3 cups white flower
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
I make that twice, same size. Small work space and I don't want the dough to dry out too much
Step 1
Make your white cheese. Twaróg. I make my own. Use Buttermilk. Simply pour a large Buttermilk carton into an oven safe pot. Heat at 250F to 300F for about an hour. Till it thickens and solidifies.
Then strain it into a cheese cloth. Bake bread with the leftover milk water if you want. Tastes great.
Let it drain and dry. Maybe 2 to 3 hours.
Should give you about 10 oz of cheese, shaped like a ball.
Boil potatoes and let cool. I cut them into cubes so they are done faster
Crush potatoes with a fork. Add the white cheese and salt and pepper. Mix by hand to get even texture and you can sample it now. If salt or pepper needed, this is the time to add. I like more black pepper in my mix.
You can make it day before and leave in the fridge
Step 2
Pour 3 cups of flour on a board. Make a hole and place the egg in it. Mix the egg and flour as much as you can. Now add some salt to it and the hot water. Mix well till all is smooth and no chunks. Add flour or water if needed. Now...my recipe asks for 2 loads of dough. So I make it twice. Limited space. And I do not want it to dry too much. If you have space, hey...double the flour and egg and water and salt and do a big blob.
I also have to separate them into smaller dough balls, my board is pretty small. The rest of the dough can go under plastic wrap so they don't dry. Also, let them rest for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling them out.
Roll out the dough on a well floured surface so it does not stick. Experiment. Don't make it too thin or too thick. You do not want it to break but you also don't want it to taste like a dumpling.
You also want more flour at the bottom than on top, so it's easier to pinch them together later.
Stop 3
Cut the flat dough with a round glass or round cookie cutter. I use a little metal form for making poached eggs, works fine.
Cut out nice, round rings and test if it's good size and thickness or roll it a bit more.
Once you cut all the circles, gather the leftover dough and add to next ball.
I use about a table spoon, full one, for the filling size. It's easier if you shape little, egg shaped filling portions prior so your hands don't get messy. Unless you have help.
Place in the center of the dough ring and squeeze the ends well together. You want tight closure so they don't come apart. Place on floured cutting board and sprinkle flour on top. Then freeze then that way. Even if you are eating same day freezing helps during cooking. Keeps stuff together. And the flour on top and bottom keeps it from sticking together when frozen.
You can place in a bag or container later and freeze up to 6 months.
Step 4
Boil in hot water with some salt. Don not boil too long. 5 to 6 min is enough. Once they float they are done. You can bite into the corner of one to see if they are soft and not chewy. Like spaghetti. Al dente or not, that is the question.
Drain carefully into a strainer. I use a big spoon with holes. Less damage that way in case you overcooked them a bit. Serve with golden brown sauteed onions or bacon.
Or...drop a big blob of butter into a frying pan and make them slightly brown and crispy. Yuuuum
Enjoy. I did.
Russian Pierogies as they go by, were my favorite above all out of the variations as a kid. Mom would spend a whole day making them. Freeze them and feed us for days with them. She made them all. Russian, which are the cheese/potato ones, meat pierogies, cabbage pierogies, mushroom pierogies, blueberry sweet pierogies and strawberry pierogies.
48 years later I finally gather up enough stamina to try my own. Always feared the work and the dough process, but since free time is in abundance I figured why not...
Talk about a cheap meal. Potatoes, buttermilk, flower, a few eggs. Takes time, but it is not as bad as I feared.
I should name them Coronogies for the famous year of 2020 when we all had to stay at home and learn to cook.
And the results are amazing. This made me 4 full cutting boards of pierogies. My life is complete.
Do not let the name confuse you. They might be called Russian Pierogi but they are not Russian. They come from a region in the Carpathian Mountains. This region belongs to Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. Would translate to Ruthenian or Rusyn pierogi.
In Poland this regions is known as Galicja.
How to guide:
Filling
5 to 6 Russet potatoes
10 oz of white cheese/home made. Or use cottage cheese if you need to cheat and are short on time. We don't judge here.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp to 2 tsp crushed black pepper
Dough
3 cups white flower
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
I make that twice, same size. Small work space and I don't want the dough to dry out too much
Step 1
Make your white cheese. Twaróg. I make my own. Use Buttermilk. Simply pour a large Buttermilk carton into an oven safe pot. Heat at 250F to 300F for about an hour. Till it thickens and solidifies.
Then strain it into a cheese cloth. Bake bread with the leftover milk water if you want. Tastes great.
Let it drain and dry. Maybe 2 to 3 hours.
Should give you about 10 oz of cheese, shaped like a ball.
Boil potatoes and let cool. I cut them into cubes so they are done faster
Crush potatoes with a fork. Add the white cheese and salt and pepper. Mix by hand to get even texture and you can sample it now. If salt or pepper needed, this is the time to add. I like more black pepper in my mix.
You can make it day before and leave in the fridge
Step 2
Pour 3 cups of flour on a board. Make a hole and place the egg in it. Mix the egg and flour as much as you can. Now add some salt to it and the hot water. Mix well till all is smooth and no chunks. Add flour or water if needed. Now...my recipe asks for 2 loads of dough. So I make it twice. Limited space. And I do not want it to dry too much. If you have space, hey...double the flour and egg and water and salt and do a big blob.
I also have to separate them into smaller dough balls, my board is pretty small. The rest of the dough can go under plastic wrap so they don't dry. Also, let them rest for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling them out.
Roll out the dough on a well floured surface so it does not stick. Experiment. Don't make it too thin or too thick. You do not want it to break but you also don't want it to taste like a dumpling.
You also want more flour at the bottom than on top, so it's easier to pinch them together later.
Stop 3
Cut the flat dough with a round glass or round cookie cutter. I use a little metal form for making poached eggs, works fine.
Cut out nice, round rings and test if it's good size and thickness or roll it a bit more.
Once you cut all the circles, gather the leftover dough and add to next ball.
I use about a table spoon, full one, for the filling size. It's easier if you shape little, egg shaped filling portions prior so your hands don't get messy. Unless you have help.
Place in the center of the dough ring and squeeze the ends well together. You want tight closure so they don't come apart. Place on floured cutting board and sprinkle flour on top. Then freeze then that way. Even if you are eating same day freezing helps during cooking. Keeps stuff together. And the flour on top and bottom keeps it from sticking together when frozen.
You can place in a bag or container later and freeze up to 6 months.
Step 4
Boil in hot water with some salt. Don not boil too long. 5 to 6 min is enough. Once they float they are done. You can bite into the corner of one to see if they are soft and not chewy. Like spaghetti. Al dente or not, that is the question.
Drain carefully into a strainer. I use a big spoon with holes. Less damage that way in case you overcooked them a bit. Serve with golden brown sauteed onions or bacon.
Or...drop a big blob of butter into a frying pan and make them slightly brown and crispy. Yuuuum
Enjoy. I did.
