Have a Saturday afternoon with an empty flat and some time to kill? Why not make some delicious perogies? That was my train of thought yesterday. Whether homemade or store bought (homemade preferred of course) I love perogies. Growing up in rural Manitoba one develops a long lasting relationship with these tasty potato filled treats.
Some more information about perogies (and of course a recipe) after the jump.
For those of you that haven't had the privilege of enjoying perogies please allow me to briefly explain what they are. In Manitoba perogies are usually associated with people that have Ukrainian or Polish heritage. They are quite simple really, basically a dumpling filled with a potato mash that is mixed with... well what ever you feel like. The most common flavour combinations available in Canada are Potato & Cheddar (most popular), Potato & Cottage Cheese or Potato & Onion and they can be found in the frozen foods section of grocery stores across the nation. Trying different filling is my second favorite thing about making perogies (first being the eating part that follows the making). The filling can really be anything. There are dessert perogies that are filled with fruit, perogies can also be made with nothing but meat inside. My personal favorite is a twist on the ever popular potato & cheddar variety. I like to add the best tasting food every created.... bacon. It really makes everything better. The cooking procedure for perogies is just as simple as the perogy itself. They are boiled in water, then fried in butter (usually with a bit of onion) and finally served with a healthy dollop of sour cream. It's really that simple.
Perogies are one of my favorite foods to make and eat. There is only one problem with homemade perogies... they take a LONG time to make. My fiancee is a vegetarian, so I usually make two batches of perogies (one with bacon and one without) whenever I make them. This tends to add a bit of time to the whole making process. I also find that we will go through perogies very quickly, so I make extras and toss them in the freezer for later. The recipe I will include below will be for one batch of perogies. I will include two different filling recipes as well as the dough recipe. Depending on the size of perogies made each batch should make between 15-20 perogies. My perogies are made from a cup that has a diameter of 8cm.
Before starting to prepare anything it is very important to get your cooking playlist up and running. My playlist during the making of this batch of perogies was a classic rock playlist followed by Dio's Greatest Hits album.
Now onto the recipe!
What you will need:
1 mixing bowl
1 set of measuring cups
1 scale (this is for the filling. You can also just "eyeball" it)
1 rolling pin
1 large pot
A large flat surface for rolling out the dough
1 round cup or cookie cutter
1 bowl with room temperature water (used for sealing up the perogies)
2-3 hours
A quick note before starting... you'll want to keep a clean towel nearby. Handling the dough and filling can get a bit messy, so it's nice to wash hands regularly (also sanitary)
Dough:
(frame 1)
2 cups of white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp chives (freshly chopped is preferred)
(the basil and chives can be left out for a more traditional dough)
1 large egg (lightly whisked)
1/2 cup sour cream (or if you are in Germany, krauter quark works as well)
1/4 cup softened and cubed butter
Filling:
(frame 2)
5-6 large potatoes (sliced to speed up the cooking time)
1 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
1 tbsp butter (for sauteing onions)
8 pieces of bacon (chopped into pieces the size of bacon bits)
2 cups (200g) grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
I like to start my perogy making with the potatoes. The filling is a lot easier to work with if the filling is cool, so it's a good idea to have it ready and in the fridge while making the dough.
The potatoes can be peeled or left with the skin on (but washed of course). My personal preference is to leave the skin on. Start by bringing a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil slice the potatoes into approximately1/2cm pieces (frame 3). Once sliced place the potatoes in the boiling water and cook until soft enough to mash (frame 5). While the potatoes are cooking chop one onion and press 2 cloves of garlic (frame 4). Saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent (frame 5) and set aside. Once the potatoes are cooked drain the water, add the sauteed onion & garlic mixture and mash until all large chunks are gone adding salt and pepper while mashing (frame 8). Once the potatoes are thoroughly mashed place the pot into the refrigerator to let cool.
Now we will move onto the dough.
Start by sifting the flour into a large mixing bowl. Next, mix the salt, basil and chives in with the flour. Now mix in the whisked egg and the butter. It is okay to use a mixer for this stage, but make sure you use dough hooks. I prefer using my hands and really getting a feeling for the dough. Kneed the dough until it loses most of it's stickiness (this should take between 5-10 minutes). You will hopefully end up with a lovely ball of dough as seen in frame 6. Cover the ball of dough with plastic wrap and place in your fridge for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if needed.
While the dough and the potato mixture are in the fridge we will move onto the rest of the filling mixture.
Fry 8 pieces of bacon until crisp, then chop into fine pieces (almost crumbles). Grate 2 cups of cheddar cheese (frame 9). Take the potato mash from the fridge and mix the bacon pieces and cheddar into the mash. Put the filling mixture back into the fridge.
Cover your large, clean, flat surface with some flour so the dough won't get stuck to it when rolling. When the dough is ready roll it out until it is approximately 1-2mm thick (frame 10). With the cup (or cookie cutter) cut out circles of dough (frame 11). I like to lift the cut circles from the surface once to make sure they are easy to pickup once filling is placed on them. Once you have some circles cut out grab your filling from the fridge and place a ball of filling (approximately 1 heaping tsp or use a melon baller) (frame 12). Lightly wet the edge of half of the circle with water. Fold the dough over to form a semicircle and
press the edges with a fork or with your fingers. Now you are ready to cook the perogies.
Place the perogies into a pot of boiling lightly salted water. You can tell that they are ready when they begin to float to the top. Take the perogies out of the pot, quickly rinse under cool water. Place the cooked perogies onto a cooling rack and let dry. I like to place the dried perogies that I want to keep for later into the freezer on a plate (or any flat surface). This allows them to freeze properly without getting stuck together.
To prepare the frozen perogies simply place them back into boiling water until they float. Then fry them in butter or oil until golden brown, serve with sour cream and enjoy.
Ingredients:
200 grams Spinach (chopped)
200 grams Feta cheese (crumbled or cubed)
100 grams Artichoke heart (chopped)
700 grams Potato mash mixture
Directions:
Simply follow the directions from the above recipe and prepare the spinach, feta and artichoke heart instead of frying bacon and grating cheddar. Mix it with the potato mash that was prepared earlier and continue on.
---
Well that is how you make perogies. If there are any questions or you would like some more visual aid (I took lots of pictures) feel free to leave a request in the comments section. I hope some readers will try to make some perogies of their own and be experimental with the filling. I will attempt some chicken, broccoli and cheddar filling the next time around. I hope you have enjoyed reading this and hope your cooking adventures go well.
Until next time keep that kitchen clean and don't bother the chef.
Take care,
Trev.
Some more information about perogies (and of course a recipe) after the jump.
For those of you that haven't had the privilege of enjoying perogies please allow me to briefly explain what they are. In Manitoba perogies are usually associated with people that have Ukrainian or Polish heritage. They are quite simple really, basically a dumpling filled with a potato mash that is mixed with... well what ever you feel like. The most common flavour combinations available in Canada are Potato & Cheddar (most popular), Potato & Cottage Cheese or Potato & Onion and they can be found in the frozen foods section of grocery stores across the nation. Trying different filling is my second favorite thing about making perogies (first being the eating part that follows the making). The filling can really be anything. There are dessert perogies that are filled with fruit, perogies can also be made with nothing but meat inside. My personal favorite is a twist on the ever popular potato & cheddar variety. I like to add the best tasting food every created.... bacon. It really makes everything better. The cooking procedure for perogies is just as simple as the perogy itself. They are boiled in water, then fried in butter (usually with a bit of onion) and finally served with a healthy dollop of sour cream. It's really that simple.
Perogies are one of my favorite foods to make and eat. There is only one problem with homemade perogies... they take a LONG time to make. My fiancee is a vegetarian, so I usually make two batches of perogies (one with bacon and one without) whenever I make them. This tends to add a bit of time to the whole making process. I also find that we will go through perogies very quickly, so I make extras and toss them in the freezer for later. The recipe I will include below will be for one batch of perogies. I will include two different filling recipes as well as the dough recipe. Depending on the size of perogies made each batch should make between 15-20 perogies. My perogies are made from a cup that has a diameter of 8cm.
Before starting to prepare anything it is very important to get your cooking playlist up and running. My playlist during the making of this batch of perogies was a classic rock playlist followed by Dio's Greatest Hits album.
Now onto the recipe!
What you will need:
1 mixing bowl
1 set of measuring cups
1 scale (this is for the filling. You can also just "eyeball" it)
1 rolling pin
1 large pot
A large flat surface for rolling out the dough
1 round cup or cookie cutter
1 bowl with room temperature water (used for sealing up the perogies)
2-3 hours
I will include a number beside each step that is included in the picture above
A quick note before starting... you'll want to keep a clean towel nearby. Handling the dough and filling can get a bit messy, so it's nice to wash hands regularly (also sanitary)
Ingredients:
Dough:
2 cups of white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp chives (freshly chopped is preferred)
(the basil and chives can be left out for a more traditional dough)
1 large egg (lightly whisked)
1/2 cup sour cream (or if you are in Germany, krauter quark works as well)
1/4 cup softened and cubed butter
Filling:
(frame 2)
5-6 large potatoes (sliced to speed up the cooking time)
1 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
1 tbsp butter (for sauteing onions)
8 pieces of bacon (chopped into pieces the size of bacon bits)
2 cups (200g) grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
I like to start my perogy making with the potatoes. The filling is a lot easier to work with if the filling is cool, so it's a good idea to have it ready and in the fridge while making the dough.
The potatoes can be peeled or left with the skin on (but washed of course). My personal preference is to leave the skin on. Start by bringing a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil slice the potatoes into approximately1/2cm pieces (frame 3). Once sliced place the potatoes in the boiling water and cook until soft enough to mash (frame 5). While the potatoes are cooking chop one onion and press 2 cloves of garlic (frame 4). Saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent (frame 5) and set aside. Once the potatoes are cooked drain the water, add the sauteed onion & garlic mixture and mash until all large chunks are gone adding salt and pepper while mashing (frame 8). Once the potatoes are thoroughly mashed place the pot into the refrigerator to let cool.
Now we will move onto the dough.
Start by sifting the flour into a large mixing bowl. Next, mix the salt, basil and chives in with the flour. Now mix in the whisked egg and the butter. It is okay to use a mixer for this stage, but make sure you use dough hooks. I prefer using my hands and really getting a feeling for the dough. Kneed the dough until it loses most of it's stickiness (this should take between 5-10 minutes). You will hopefully end up with a lovely ball of dough as seen in frame 6. Cover the ball of dough with plastic wrap and place in your fridge for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if needed.
While the dough and the potato mixture are in the fridge we will move onto the rest of the filling mixture.
Fry 8 pieces of bacon until crisp, then chop into fine pieces (almost crumbles). Grate 2 cups of cheddar cheese (frame 9). Take the potato mash from the fridge and mix the bacon pieces and cheddar into the mash. Put the filling mixture back into the fridge.
Cover your large, clean, flat surface with some flour so the dough won't get stuck to it when rolling. When the dough is ready roll it out until it is approximately 1-2mm thick (frame 10). With the cup (or cookie cutter) cut out circles of dough (frame 11). I like to lift the cut circles from the surface once to make sure they are easy to pickup once filling is placed on them. Once you have some circles cut out grab your filling from the fridge and place a ball of filling (approximately 1 heaping tsp or use a melon baller) (frame 12). Lightly wet the edge of half of the circle with water. Fold the dough over to form a semicircle and
press the edges with a fork or with your fingers. Now you are ready to cook the perogies.
Place the perogies into a pot of boiling lightly salted water. You can tell that they are ready when they begin to float to the top. Take the perogies out of the pot, quickly rinse under cool water. Place the cooked perogies onto a cooling rack and let dry. I like to place the dried perogies that I want to keep for later into the freezer on a plate (or any flat surface). This allows them to freeze properly without getting stuck together.
To prepare the frozen perogies simply place them back into boiling water until they float. Then fry them in butter or oil until golden brown, serve with sour cream and enjoy.
Spinach, Artichoke and Feta filling:
Ingredients:
200 grams Spinach (chopped)
200 grams Feta cheese (crumbled or cubed)
100 grams Artichoke heart (chopped)
700 grams Potato mash mixture
Directions:
Simply follow the directions from the above recipe and prepare the spinach, feta and artichoke heart instead of frying bacon and grating cheddar. Mix it with the potato mash that was prepared earlier and continue on.
---
Well that is how you make perogies. If there are any questions or you would like some more visual aid (I took lots of pictures) feel free to leave a request in the comments section. I hope some readers will try to make some perogies of their own and be experimental with the filling. I will attempt some chicken, broccoli and cheddar filling the next time around. I hope you have enjoyed reading this and hope your cooking adventures go well.
Until next time keep that kitchen clean and don't bother the chef.
Take care,
Trev.
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| July 14, 2012 |
I really like your idea of adding the spinach, feta and artichoke. Decadent!
ReplyDelete