Eating: Pierogies

Way back in 2005 I was hanging out at the Old Pioneer in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  I hung out there a fair amount back in the day, and it was where Nathan and I met and fell in love.  It was a neighborhood bar that served mostly beer and whiskey, but also delicious barbecue.  The Pioneer was terribly run, but in the most charming way possible.  Pierogies were always on the menu, but were never actually available.  I assume this was because they are kind of a pain to make and nobody wanted to deal with it.  But oh are they ever delicious, comfort food at its best.  So one night I managed to talk the cook at the time into sharing the recipe with me.  He wrote it down on an order ticket, and I have kept it safely tucked away ever since.  The ball point pen is pretty faded these days, but if I squint I can still make it out.  Here is the recipe as written...



Ingredients:

Dough:

5 cups flour
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
a pinch of salt

Knead dough til it doesn't stick to your hands.  Mold into ball.  Cut into quarters.  Roll quarters to 1/16 inch thick.  Use a pint glass to cut circles into the dough.  Stuff with whatever.

And that's all you need to do.  I like to start the mixing process off with a fork.  It doesn't take long to come together.  It's a good idea to let it rest a bit after needing as the dough can be pretty elastic.  Pierogies are traditionally filled with potato, my favorite filling is potato and onion.  I added some bacon to this batch at the last minute and it was delicious.

Filling:

2 medium potaoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender, drain and mash.  Meanwhile sautee onions until browned.  Add to potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly:

Here is Nathan's assembly operation.  Put a small amount of filling, you really need less than you think, in the center of each dough round.  Dip your finger in some water and wet half way around the edge of the round, it should feel slimy.  Fold the other half of the round over, squeezing out any trapped air.  Gently pinch around the edge.

Eat it:

Pierogies can be prepared boiled, as you would ravioli, or deep fried.  I like my boiled pierogies with melted butter and salt and pepper.  I have never taken the trouble to deep fry my peirogies, but I will give them a quick pan fry after I have boiled them.  Fried pierogies are deliciously crispy and best served with sour cream.

Notes:

This recipe makes about 70 pierogies and takes a while.  It's best to enlist a friend to save time.  I rolled out and cut dough while Nathan assembled.  Pierogies freeze beautifully, so you can split the bounty and have enough tasty pierogies to last.  To freeze, lay out on a cookie sheet and freeze until hard.  Then you can transfer them to a ziplock for storage.  Frozen pierogies make a great quick and easy snack.