The Melting Pot 2.0/The Melting Pot 2.0.iso/food/pasta/pierogis.02

Text File | 1995-09-27 | 12KB | 323 lines

Pierogi dough

2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

1) Mound flour on a bread board and make a well in the center
2) Drop eggs and salt into well.  Add water; working from the center
to outside of flour mound, mix flour into liquid in center with one
hand and keep flour mounded with other hand.  Knead until dough is
firm and well mixed.
3) Cover dough with a warm bowl and let rest 10 min.
4) Divide dough into halves.  On floured surface, using half of dough at a
time, roll dough as thin as possible.
5) Cut out 3 inch rounds with biscuit cutter (I use a "on the rocks" glass)
6) Place a tablespoon of filling a little to one side of each round of dough,
moisten edge with water, fold over and press edges together - I use a fork
to make *sure* the edges are sealed, the way you would a pie crust.

NOTE: Pierogi can be frozen at this point.  Layer carefully in freezer
container, be sure to seperate layers with wax paper.

If you are going to eat right away....

7)  Drop pierogi into boiling (lightly salted) water.  Cook gently
3 to 5 minutes, or until pierogi float.  Lift out of water with
perforated spoon.

At this point, Grandma (and I) would drain the pierogi and lightly
saute - First fry some bacon & crumble; reserve bacon fat.  Saute
some chopped onion in same pan; remove & add to crumbled bacon.
Add alittle butter and lightly saute pierogi in same pan. Yum!

Mushroom Filling

Tradition is to use Polish Mushrooms, or as those of you familiar
critters, Polish Gold - they are VERY expensive, and often VERY
hard to come by.  I use a combination of Shitake (sp) and button
mushrooms.  Soak Shitake mushrooms in warm water for atleast an hour.
Chop 1 lb button mushrooms roughly and 1/2 medium onion and saute
in butter until mushrooms cook down.  Chop Shitake mushrooms fine and
add mushrooms AND WATER THEY HAVE BEEN SOAKING IN  to pan & simmer
5-6 min, until liquid starts to evaporate.  Salt & pepper lightly.
(This holds nicely in the refrigerator - if you make the mushrooms
the day before you make the pierogis, they will absorb more flavor
from the cooking liquid - or so it seems, but I'm not a chemist).

When filling pierogi's, squeeze liquid from mushrooms - if filling
is too moist it will run out of the dough.

Now, when my wife and I make them I also make mashed potatoes,
and let them cool a little.  Then I get some sharp cheddar cheese
and cut it into very small pieces and add it and a little dill,
salt, and pepper to the potatoes.  This makes a wonderful stuffing
as well.


Pierogi

2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup water

Mound flour on bread board with a well in the center.  Drop eggs and
salt into well.  Ad water, working from center to outside of mound, mix
flour into liquid in center with one hand and keep dough mounded with
the other. Knead until well mixed and firm.  Cover dough with a warm
bowl and let rest 10 minutes.
Divide dough into halves.  Roll out 1/2 dough on floured surface as thin
as possible.  If it gets too thick, it turns noodle-like and they are no
good.  Cut 3 inch rounds with biscuit cutter or bowl mouth. Place
filling a little to one side of center.  Moisten edges with water fold
over and pinch edges together.  Be sure they are sealed well or all the
filling will leak out.  Drop pierogi into boiling water.  Cook gently
3-5 minutes, or until they float.  Lift out of water with perforated
spoon, and drop them into a frying pan with butter or margarine.  Fry
until golden.
This recipe yields only about a dozen.  I always double or triple it.
If I'm going to go thru the trouble of making them, I'm going to freeze
some too.  If you want to freeze them, make sure you boil them first,
then rub margarine on them so they don't stick together in the freezer.
Then thaw in the microwave and drop them in the frying pan.

Cheese filling:
1 tub DRY curd cottage cheese (ricotta will also work)
chives
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg
1 Tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix.

Sauerkraut and mushroom filling:
2 1/2 cups sauerkraut
Boiling Water
1/2 cup chopped onoin
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp pepper
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 Tbsp sour cream

Cook sauerkraut about 20 mins in saucepan.  In frying pan, sautee onion
and mushrooms in butter.  Stir in sauerkraut and pepper.  Fry until
sauerkraut is golden.  Add chopped egg and sour cream.  Mix.

Pierogi Dough #1

2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients together lightly and knead in bowl.  Rest dough for
one-half hour, covered. Knead the dough on a flour coated board and
roll out to one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut out circles with a cup,
glass, or doughnut cutter (we've found 4.5 to 5 inches ideal
diameter).  Fill with favorite filling pressing edges well together
(like turn-overs).

Cook in boiling (gentle boil) water for about ten minutes.  Remove
using slotted spoon and rinse lightly with cold water.  Serve with
melted butter, salt, pepper.


Pierogi Dough #2

1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup melted butter
2.5 cups flour

Sift Flour, salt, baking powder together.  Add sour cream and melted
butter.  Knead the dough on a flour  coated board and roll out to
one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut out circles with a cup, glass, or
doughnut cutter (we've found 4.5 to 5 inches ideal diameter).  Fill
with favorite filling pressing edges well together (like turn-overs).


Pierogi Dough #3

1 egg
1/2 cup water, lukewarm
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup milk, lukewarm
1 teaspoon melted butter
2 - 2.5 cups sifted flour

Combine eggs, milk, water in bowl and beat until blended.  Add flour,
one cup at a time to make soft dough.  Knead the dough on a flour
coated board, cover with bowl and let rest for ten to fifteen minutes.
Roll out dough to one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut out circles with a
cup, glass, or doughnut cutter (we've found 4.5 to 5 inches ideal
diameter).  Fill with favorite filling pressing edges well together
(like turn-overs).


Pierogi Dough #4

1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1.75 - 2 cups all-purpose flour

Beat egg, milk and water together in bowl; slowly add flour to make
soft dough.  Knead dough on flour coated pastry board until smooth;
cover with bowl and rest dough for fifteen minutes.  Roll out dough to
one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut out circles with a cup, glass, or
doughnut cutter (we've found 4.5 to 5 inches ideal diameter).  Fill
with favorite filling pressing edges well together (like turn-overs).


Pierogi Dough #5

2 eggs
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mound flour on pastry board (or in a large bowl) and make hole in
center.  Drop eggs in center hole and cut into flour with knife or
fork.  Add salt and water; knead until firm and smooth.  Place bowl in
covered bowl and allow to rest for ten to fifteen minutes.  Roll out
dough to one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut out circles with a cup, glass,
or doughnut cutter (we've found 4.5 to 5 inches ideal diameter).  Fill
with favorite filling pressing edges well together (like turn-overs).


Cabbage Filling (makes enough filling for approx. four dozen pierogi)

1 head cabbage
7 cans sauerkraut (10 oz. cans)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
10 Tablespoons butter

Parboil cabbage in boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes.  Rinse,
drain, cool, and thoroughly wring moisture from cabbage and sauerkraut;
set aside.  The drier the cabbage and sauerkraut the less time required
to complete cooking.  Saute onion and garlic in 2 Tbsp. butter.  Add
cabbage and sauerkraut and remainder of butter; cook for approximately
one half hour or until cabbage is soft and mixture is "reasonably"
dry.  It is important that the mixture not be too moist in order to
prevent wetting dough during the filling process ... wet dough will
cause pierogi to break open during cooking!

Allow mixture to stand in refrigerator (in covered bowl) for twenty
four hours prior to filling pierogi dough.


Cheese Filling #1

1 cup cottage cheese, dry
1 egg yolk
3 Tablespoons Sour Cream
salt and pepper

Cream cheese with egg yolk; add salt and pepper to taste.  If filling
is too thick, add sour cream.


Cheese Filling #2

1 cup dry cottage cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 egg yolks or (1 egg and 1 egg yolk)

Force cottage cheese through sieve.  Mix with other ingredients
thoroughly.


Beef filling

1 large onion, sliced
2 Tbsp margarine
1 3/4 c ground beef (grd.turkey will work almost as well-cheaper)
3/4 c cooked rice
2 tsp instant bouiillon or meat extract
3 Tbsp hot water
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Saute onion in margarine.  Stir in meat and rice.  Dissolve bouillon in
hot water.  Add to meat mixture with parsley and salt+pepper to taste.

Sausage Filling

10 oz. polish sausage (kielbasa) Stay away from Hillshire farms-Yuck
        skinned and chopped
1/2 c grated cheese or chopped mushrooms or both
1/4 c fine dry bread crubs
1 egg

I like to fry the kielbasa in a pan before mixing it all together, but my
original recipe says don't cook it.

Cooked Fruit

2 cups pitted cherries, blueberries or apples
3/4 cup water
1/3 c sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon or cardamom
1 tsp lemon juice
2-4 Tbsp dry bread crumbs

Combine fruit water and sugar in saucepan.  bring to boil.  Simmer until
fruit is tender and water is almost gone.  Remove from heat.  mash
slightly with potato masher.  Add cinnamon and lemon juice.  Cook and
stir over low heat until thick.  Stir in enough bread crumbs to further
thicken.

Pierogies

My pierogie recipe is to just make a basic egg-noodle batch.
Pile some flour on a [clean] countertop.  Make a depression in
the middle.  Break an egg into the middle.  Fold the flour into
the egg until well mixed.  Cover and let rest at least a 1/2 hour.

Roll out the noodle dough as far as you can.  Cut into rounds or'
squares (your preference, squares make for less waste).  Fill with
your favourite filling, fold over, seal edges with some flour/water
paste and press with a fork.  Let rest for an hour.

Boil pierogies for a couple of minutes, until they float.  Drain.

Melt some butter in a frying pan.  Sautee pierogies in the butter
until lightly browned on both sides.

Eat pierogies, with much gusto.

[I stumbled across this method of making pierogies one day about 20
years ago when trying to make my first batch of ravioli.  Somewhere
along the way, I said "Gee, these look like raw pierogies", and
followed my nose.]

Fillings:

My ex-hubby's Babcia would fill with cottage cheese or prunes.  I've
seen in (US) grocery stores potato-cheese filling or sauerkraut filling.
I've read of Russian pierogies with a meat/vegetable filling.  I don't
know your pierogie experience, so cannot offer suggestions.

These were always served Christmas eve and [I think] on Easter Sunday.
Babcia always made kapusta (sauerkraut, Polish style cabbage)  on these
occasions, too.

Anna Figura Dziubek's kapusta

Open up a couple of large cans of sauerkraut.  Drain and rinse well.
Place in a large saucepan with a potato, and enough water to cover.
Bring to the boil, let simmer a while.  Drain and rinse.  Repeat this
process until the potato starts to fall apart.  Add hard green peas and
black mushrooms, plus some pork fat-back which has been fried up a bit.
Stir all ingredients together until the potato has literally fallen
apart, making a slightly creamy sauce.  Simmer a while longer.