Tasty Tuesday–Polish Pierogies

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

I got it in my head the other day that I really wanted pierogies. We used to make them when I was a kid and then hubby and I got them occasionally from Schwan’s (but they were waaaaaaay to expensive!). So I had to go find a good recipe that would satisfy what I was looking for and what hubs would be expecting when I said pierogies (and BTW, he says it funny because he grew up eating some polish food due to his heritage). ANYWAY, I searched Food Network first and found these babies, thanks to Emeril Lagasse. I would not rate this recipe as easy, seeing as you have to make the dough, and the filling, and cook them two ways. However, they are tasty, and the recipe made enough to freeze a full second meal for another day plus leftovers for Tim’s lunch today. The filling and dough proportions came out just right too, no leftovers of either!

Polish Pierogies

Ingredients

For the pierogi dough:

• 1 pint sour cream
• 5 cups flour (will be trying 1/2 white 1/2 wheat next time)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

For the filling:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound soft farmers cheese (I bet mozzarella would work in a pinch)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 whole egg

To finish:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (Didn’t have)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (Or if you’re my husband, maple syrup)

Directions

For the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, flour, butter, 2 whole eggs, egg yolk, 2 teaspoons salt and olive oil. Knead the mixture into a soft dough. Divide the dough in half and cover for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll each half of the dough into a thin circle, 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough using a 3-inch circle cutter. For the filling: Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a saute pan, render the ground beef for 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper-lined plate. In a mixing bowl, combine the cheese, ground beef, shallots, garlic, green onion and egg. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle of dough and fold over. Press and seal into half-moon shapes. Use a little water to seal the pierogis. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pierogi for 8 minutes, or until they float. Remove from the water and drain. In a saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sear the pierogi for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan. The pierogi will need to be sauteed in batches. Arrange the pierogis on a platter. Garnish with parsley and serve with sour cream.

To freeze, I cooked through the boiling step, then placed on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once completely frozen, I put them in a gallon ziplock bag for later. Then I’ll just defrost them (probably in the microwave) and pan fry them in butter.

Sorry, got so excited that dinner was ready, I forgot to take a picture. Maybe when I cook up the other batch…

~S

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