Mama's Peirogi

This photo is back from Thanksgiving 2009 at M&C's house. My first try at making peirogi without my Polish mama at my side. It's always been my job to knead the dough and fill the pockets, but this time I made them all the way through, with the help of Chaz doing the stuffin'.

Of course the recipe is vague, and a lot of it goes by 'feel'. So a lot of this is estimated. And I'm going to write it the way my mom tells it. She learned it from a family friend back in Wroclaw. It's got the American twist of using sharp cheddar instead of the white cheese typically used in Poland. It's a good idea to read the whole thing through before you get started. The recipe is easy, but there is a lot to orchestrate at the same time.

We've made many variations, potato and cheddar with jalapenos, ground meat, mushroom and onion (my favorite!), sour kraut with mushroom, cherry and blueberry. I'm not crazy about the fruit ones. I'd rather have cake!

Potato & Cheese Peirogi

Filling (make first, allow to cool)

2.5-3 lbs potatoes, recommend Idaho red, the 'dry varieties work best'

24oz sharp cheddar cheese, yellow, shredded OR as my mom says, a-bag-ana-half

salt

black pepper

Peel potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 - 2" pieces and boil until cooked through. Drain. Mash 'em up (or rice them for a lighter texture). Add shredded cheese, salt, and lots of black pepper to taste. Let mixture cool completely.

Dough:

About 2 1/2 lbs white all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

3 Eggs

3 TBLS olive oil

dash of salt

a little bit of warm warm water

vegetable oil for frying.

sauteed onions and/or chopped cooked bacon for garnish

Take a half-a-bag of a five pound bag of flour and dump it on a huge wooden cutting board or a formica counter top. Not 2-and-half pounds, but half-a-bag-a 5 pounds. :)

Make a 'well' in the center, add 3 whole eggs, and 2 tbls olive oil. Dip your fingers into the center of the well and begin to stir in the flour, pulling it into the center. Keep mixing until you have to start to knead it, if it's dry where you are, you may need to add a little of the warm water. Keep kneading until the dough is stretchy and elastic, sprinkling flour lightly on your countertop as needed. if you squash it down, or tug gently, it should come back together. It will feel soft, and slightly cool, the best way to describe it, is that it feels like the underside of my upper arm. Good luck with that, next time you see me, I'll let you cop a feel of my arm. :)

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Take 3 and place in plastic bag, so it doesn't dry out. If you are working alone, it's best to work in quarters, rolling out the dough and filling. Then setting the filled peirogi aside on a parchment covered and flour-sprinkled cookie sheet until you are ready to cook.

Roll out dough, until about 3/16" thick. Keep using flour (but not too much) to keep dough from sticking to rolling pin or work surface. 

At this point, it's up to you how big you want to make them. I recommend using a 3 to 3 1/2 inch round cutter (top of glasses and cans work too). Cut a bunch of circles out.

Using a teaspoon, place filling in center of circle of dough. About 2 tsp, but again, you've just got to feel it. Pinch around the edges, sealing the peirogi, making a half-moon shape. The pocket should feel full, no air inside. And make sure it's sealed tight!! After  that, we like to do an additional pinch and twist, which gives it a frilly finished edge, like you would do on a pie crust.

When all you peirogi are filled, and your arms fell like they are gonna fall off, and your back aches, and the dog had licked all the filling off the floor. It's time to have a shot of cold vodka. Or 3.

Here's another switch, we have discovered that steaming the dumplings, asian-style, in a steamer basket avoids sticky and explosion mishaps. It's traditional to boil them and when the float to the top, they are ready. But this is the way we roll at my house. And anyway, Poland has roots in Asia, so it all makes sense to me.

Place steamer baskets over pot, fitting the whole kit tightly. Steam should not be billowing out the sides. Bring water to boil in pot, keeping the lid on tight the basket. When steamy, place a single layer of peirogi in each chamber, steam for about 5 minutes. They get sort of translucent when ready...you can taste one, and see if the dough is cooked through. No al dente here.

In a saute pan, just cover the bottom with oil, and bring to about medium high. When peirogi are steamed, transfer to oil and brown on each side.

Since you are eating a carb-laden delight, you might as well just bring it on home..when you have the whole pile fried up, sprinkle with sauteed onions and chopped up cooked bacon. It's extra delicious (and earth-friendly) to saute the sliced onions in the bacon fat.

For the full-meal-deal... add a ring of kielbasa, some grated beets with horseradish, a couple of garlic pickles and a loaf of seeded rye bread. And lots of vodka. It will help you cope with the way your belly puffs out after this meal.

Smacznego!