Pierogi and Kielbasi

[Anglmom62]

This is one of my cheaper “Go To” meals. Pierogi’s are really inexpensive to make, and take very little time. I make up the dough in advance, roll it between sheets of parchment paper, put it on a baking sheet and freeze it. Then when I want to make Pierogi from whatever leftovers I have, I thaw it, form the pierogis and I’m ready to go.

For the Dinner for 4:
20 Pierogi (usually I use potato and cheese filling)
1 Kielbasi link (think the Hillshire farms link here, not a hot dog type link)
1/2 onion
4 tbs butter

Gently boil the Pierogi like you would ravioli for about 5 minutes. In the mean time, melt 2 tbs butter in a large (10″ or 12″ heavy skillet) and slice your onion. Add the onion to the butter in the skillet and cook until softened, or as cooked as you like it. Remove the onion from the skillet.

Drain your pierogi. Add the remaining 2 tbs butter to the skillet and gently place your peirogi in the skillet. You’re looking to brown them in the butter on both sides, so don’t have your skillet turned up too high or your butter will burn. Medium heat usually does the trick on my old electric stove. Brown the pierogi on one side, about 8 minutes. While they are browning, cut your kielbasi into bite size chunks. When it’s time to turn the pierogi over, add the kielbasi to the skillet as well. This will add a bit more fat to your skillet, and heat the kielbasi through. Add the onions back to the skillet just before serving to warm them back up.

If you want, you can also do a few dessert pierogi as well…fill them with jam, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, marshmallows, whatever sounds good. Simmer them gently in water for about 5 minutes, drain, and then bake them in the oven at 350F for about 8-10 minutes. Dust them with powdered sugar.

Pierogi Dough – You can buy them in the store, but these are really easy, and a LOT cheaper to make!
2 cups AP flour
2 large eggs, beaten
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup room temp water
Combine the eggs, water and salt with a whisk. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. If you live in a more humid climate, you may need a touch more flour, a dryer climate, a touch more water. You’re going for a dough that comes together without being either crumbly or sticky.

Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes. Pull it out of the bowl and form it into a rectangle, about 1″ thick on a piece of parchment paper. Depending on the size of your work surface, you can either roll the entire thing out between sheets of parchment, or cut it into pieces that are workable for you. You’re going to roll it about 1/8″ thick…like pasta. Cut your with a biscuit cutter to make the size pierogi that work for you. I use a larger cutter to make dinner pierogi, but if I’m doing these for an appetizer or dessert, I use a smaller one. Make sure you cover your cut pieces with slight moist paper towel or a clean kitchen towel.

Filling can be whatever you scrounge out of your fridge, or the traditional Polish filling is mashed potato with cheese and/or onion. For about 20 dinner pierogi, you’ll need about 3 large russet potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed, 1 cup of cheese of your choice (sharp cheddar is nice here), salt and pepper to taste. Mix your filling together well. Drop about a tbsp of filling just to one side of the center line of your cut out dough round, being careful not to get it too close to the edges. Fold one side over the other, matching the edges, and seal first by pressing (try to get all the air out of the filling pocket), and then by gently using the tines of a fork to mash the edges together.

You can always make the entire pierogi up in batches and freeze them already made instead of just the dough sheets. I like to freeze the dough sheets because I have the versatility of using whatever is in my fridge when I want to make them up. Summer berries and a couple chocolate chips are wonderful as a dessert. Finely diced leftover chicken with a dollop of cream cheese and some minced chives are yummy too. Play with this…see what fillings you and your family like!

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