Pierogi – Polish dumplings Recipe

Pierogi Ruskies: Potatoes. Cheese. Butter. The Polish are genius – this is dumpling heaven! An ideal weekend venture – prepare dinner some now, freeze some for later. They prepare dinner from frozen!!

I’m so excited to be bringing you this Pierogi recipe! I’d eat them every single day in the event that they didn’t tip the scales within the flawed course. 😭

Even for those who haven’t tried a Pierogi earlier than, all it’s essential know is that these ones are tacky, creamy mashed potato crammed dumplings served with an intensely butter onion sauce.

In different phrases, it’s each Cheese-Lovin’ Carb Monster’s Dream come true, and he or she who’s the self appointed Head Priestess of this Membership was actually in mind-boggling ecstasy when confronted with a plate of those.

They’re, to say the least, one of the crucial scrumptious issues I’ve eaten this 12 months!

Very, only a few!

THE Pierogi filling

It’s primarily tacky, buttery, creamy mashed potato. See authenticity notice under the picture on the cheese, and why it was necessary for me to make this recipe accessible to “everybody”!

• Potatoes – Use all-rounder potatoes in order that they mash up fluffy and creamy. The most typical potatoes at common shops can be fantastic – they’re stocked as a result of they’re nice all-rounders.

  Australia – Sebago (the grime brushed potatoes bought all over the place) are good, Desiree are nice too. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.

• Cheese – I exploit cheddar however any good melting cheese you’d fortunately put in your grilled cheese is okay. Give mozzarella a miss. Whereas it melts nice, it doesn’t have sufficient flavour.

  Authenticity notice – Pierogi is historically made with quark, a mildly tangy European cottage cheese. Quark isn’t one thing I’ve seen regularly in Australia. Cottage cheese might be the perfect substitute. However shredded cheese, as you may think about, makes a scrumptious various – think about it melted all through creamy mashed potato!

  I opted to make use of common cheese as a result of I need this recipe to be as accessible as doable so many individuals can expertise the greatness that’s Pieorgis.

• Butter – Use unsalted so we are able to add the correct amount of salt.

Pierogi DUMPLING DOUGH

• Flour – Simply plain / all-purpose flour.

• Giant egg – From a carton labelled “giant eggs” (they need to weight round 55-60g/2 oz).

• Butter – Melted into the water that I by chance omitted of the phot. 🙂

ONION BUTTER SAUCE

You might serve the Pierogis will simply melted butter and also you’d swoon. However it’s even higher with a sautéed onion sauce which is widespread with conventional Polish Pierogis.

Pierogis are simpler to wrap than gyoza and potstickers. As a result of Asians like pleating – which may take follow to grasp. The Polish simply press to seal. A lot easier! – I’m a giant fan 🙂

HOT TIP: Acquired a Pierogi itch that wants scratching however home made wrappers are out of attain? Use store-bought spherical Asian dumpling wrappers as an alternative. The wrappers are thinner however it works a deal with!

1. CHEESY POTATO FILLING FIRST

Make the filling first as a result of it wants 1 1/2 hours to completely cool, throughout which period you’ll have the dough rolled out and lower, able to fill!

1. Boil potatoes in salted water, beginning with the potatoes in chilly water. Why? As a result of in any other case the surface of the potatoes prepare dinner an excessive amount of and begin to crumble earlier than the within is cooked.

2. Drain potatoes.

3. Mash & combine – Cross the potatoes via a potato ricer or mash utilizing a daily potato masher. Then combine within the butter, cheese, salt and pepper. The cheese received’t soften – it melts when the pierogis is boiled!

4. Cool – Unfold out on to a tray. Cowl with cling wrap, urgent so it’s absolutely involved, so the filling doesn’t sweat. Cool on the counter (about half-hour) then refrigerate till chilly (1 hour+). You are able to do this the day earlier than.

   The filling must be chilly so it doesn’t sweat contained in the dough (which might make the dough soggy). It’s additionally simpler to wrap the dumplings as a result of the potato is agency.

2. tips on how to make pierogi dumpling DOUGH

You might use your stand-mixer however I benefit from the leisurely means of hand-kneading this dough. It’s straightforward to handle as a result of it’s a small quantity and the dough is smooth. Plus, hand-kneading is considerably satisfying, and you’ll (smugly) inform all people lucky sufficient to eat certainly one of these – I made these myself with my very own palms. (You already know I do!)

1. Dry – Whisk the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Add moist – Make a nicely within the centre. Then add melted butter with heat water plus the egg. Combine to mix utilizing a spatula – will probably be a tough, shaggy dough.

3. Knead – Scrape out onto a calmly floured work floor. Knead for five minutes till the dough turns into clean. Use the naked minimal flour as wanted to stop it from sticking to your palms and the work floor. (An excessive amount of flour = drier stiffer dough = tougher to roll out thinly).

4. Relaxation – Wrap with cling wrap and go away on the counter for half-hour.

3. MAKING THE PIEROGIS

1. Roll out the dough on a calmly floured floor to 3mm / 1/8″ thickness.

2. Lower out rounds utilizing a 7.5 cm / 3″ cutter. Do as many as you may, then collect surplus dough right into a ball, wrap with cling wrap and put aside to roll out and lower extra later.

3. Filling – Place 1 tablespoon of tacky potato filling in the course of a spherical (20g, if you wish to be actual!).

4. Dip finger with water and run alongside fringe of half the circle. It will assist seal securely.

5. Fold dough over to surround the filling then press the perimeters collectively.

6. Seal firmly by pinching to make slight dents, the normal look of pierogis.

   Place them on a calmly floured tray and proceed to wrap remaining Pierogi (together with rolling out the remaining dough). It is best to get ~30 pierogis. A pleasant huge batch – prepare dinner some now, freeze some for later!

4. HOW TO COOK PIEROGIS

Boil like pasta! Simply be sure you don’t crowd the pot. Pierogis wants area to bounce round! I prepare dinner 8 in a medium pot, and as much as 12 in a wider pot. Suggestions under for batching cooking bigger portions.

1. Sauté onion first – Sauté chopped onion in butter till golden on the perimeters. Then switch right into a bowl or container and use as a lot or as little as you need for no matter measurement serving of pierogis you make. 1 giant onion is sufficient for 30 pierogis as a result of they’re solely sparingly scattered with onion, like pictured. Prepare dinner onion will hold for five days within the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.

2. Boil 5 minutes – Convey ~3 litres/quarts of water to the boil with 1 tablespoon of salt. Decrease 10 pierogis into the water and prepare dinner for five minutes, or till they’re floating on the floor (they sink at first).

   ⚠️ As famous above the step pictures, don’t crowd the pot else the pierogis will stick collectively and prepare dinner inconsistently.
   ⚡️ It’s necessary to make use of salted water so that you get some seasoning into the pierogis wrapper because it cooks. Makes it tastier!

3. Reserve water – Dip a jug into the water and scoop out 1 cup water. We’re going to make use of a little bit of this water to make the sauce. The cooking water is best than faucet water as a result of it’s acquired starch from the pierogi dough in it which makes the sauce thicken. Should you simply blended water + butter collectively, it stays water.

4. Scoop out or drain –  Then use a slotted spoon to switch pierogi right into a bowl. Or, you may drain in a colander if you’re not utilizing the water to prepare dinner extra.

5. Butter sauce – Utilizing a largish pan, soften 25g butter (1 1/2 tablespoons) over medium warmth. Add 1/3 of the onion butter (from step 1) plus the cooked pierogis with 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water.

6. Toss for 1 minute, nonetheless on the range, till the pierogis are coated within the butter sauce. You’ll see it goes from watery (whenever you first add the water) to thickened so it sticks to the floor of the pierogi.

   Bigger batch – Simply scale up the butter, onion and water. At this stage, it’s straightforward to eye-ball it. And I wouldn’t discourage using much more butter!

7. Serve – Slide onto a serving plate, scraping out each drop of butter. Sprinkle with parsley, add a dollop of bitter cream. Eat and be completely satisfied!

As unusual because it sounds to have a complete part on tips on how to prepare dinner and serve bigger batches of pierogi, there’s really sensible components that come into play that should be thought-about! The reason being as a result of they’re fairly giant – greater than Gyoza and Chinese language dumplings, you may’t boil greater than 10 to 12 max per batch, they usually should be tossed within the sauce on the range.

So the recipe I’m sharing in the present day makes 30 pierogis however offers instructions to prepare dinner one batch of 8 to 10 (which is a pleasant quantity for two individuals). Leftovers are good for freezing – you may prepare dinner from frozen!

However if you need to prepare dinner all 30 pierogis, right here’s some sensible ideas for tips on how to do it!

boiling giant batches

Pierogis should be boiled in a single layer else they will get caught collectively and the wrapping received’t prepare dinner evenly. So that you’ll max out at round 12 pierogis in a big home-pot.
If you wish to make and serve extra, then boil in batches of 12 and unfold cooked pierogis on a tray. When you’ve boiled as a lot as you need, then drop all of them again into the pot for 30 seconds to reheat earlier than tossing with the butter. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water then drain in a colander.

Giant batch butter sauce tossing

For the butter sauce tossing half, you may put in as many pierogis as you may comfortably match into a big skillet. You might even use a big pot. Simply be sure you can toss the pierogis, as a result of that’s the way you get a pleasant coating of butter on them.

Easy methodology for gigantic batches

If you wish to serve all 30 pierogis on the similar time, a straightforward technique to sauce them up is to make the sauce individually then douse over the pierogis.
To do that, prepare dinner the pierogis per above (ie boil then reheat). Drain nicely in a colander and switch right into a serving bowl. Soften 70g / 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter with 1/3 cup of the cooking water in a small pan on medium warmth. Simmer for a few minutes till the butter thickens (the starch within the pierogi cooking water makes this occur).

Cooking half achieved, it’s time to get pleasure from them! A dollop of bitter cream provides a beautiful cooling, tangy creamy contact that pairs so nicely with tacky mashed potato (proof – reader favorite Stuffed Baked Potatoes!). And a little bit sprinkle of parsley or chives provides a pleasant contact of inexperienced to an in any other case very beige plate.

And as a plate of meals that’s an unapologetic celebration of three of my favorite meals teams – butter, cheese and potato – a perky recent aspect of greens can be a pleasant accompaniment. Even this self-confessed Cheese Lovin’ Carb Monster wants one thing recent to chop via all that richness! Attempt a traditional mild French dressing with leafy greens or any steamed greens.

Hope you like this as a lot as we do! Massive shout out to our Chef JB for doing a lot of the leg-work on the analysis, improvement and testing on this pierogi recipe, then educating me and answering my many, many questions. It’s been raining pierogis in our kitchen!!! – Johnsat x

Pierogi – Polish dumplings Recipe

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Serves: 30 Prep Time: 45 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes 40 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour , plain/all-purpose
• 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large egg , whisked (55-60g/2oz)
• 500g / 1 lb potatoes , peeled and sliced 1cm / 1/2" thick (2 medium, Note 1)
• 1 tbsp cooking/kosher salt – for cooking potatoes
• 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese , tightly packed cup (Note 2)
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 30g/ 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion , finely diced
• 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1 tbsp cooking/kosher salt – for boiling water
• 25g/ 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter , per 8 – 10 pierogis (Note 3)
• Sour cream , for serving
• Parsley or chives , finely chopped – just a pinch

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes – Put potato and 1 tbsp salt in a large saucepan. Add cold tap water so it's 3cm/1 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil on high heat then reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
2. Mash – Drain, then pass the potatoes through a potato ricer into a bowl (or use potato masher)
3. Cheese it – Immediately add butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon until fully combined.
4. Cool – Spread out ~1cm / 1/2" thick on a tray. Cover with cling wrap, pressing so it is fully in contact. Cool on the counter (~30 min) then refrigerate until cold (1 hour+).
5. Melt butter – Heat up the water and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just until butter is melted, do not boil water. (Or do this in the microwave). Turn off heat.
6. Mix dough – Whisk the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and then add the butter water plus egg. Mix to combine into a shaggy dough.
7. Knead – Scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth (Note 3). You could also use your stand mixer.
8. Rest – Wrap with cling wrap and leave on the counter for 30 minutes.
9. Roll & cut – On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3mm / 1/8" thickness. Cut out rounds using a 7.5 cm / 3" cutter. Do as many as you can, then gather surplus dough into a ball, wrap with cling wrap and set aside for later.
10. Fill & wrap – Place 1 tablespoon of cheesy potato filling in the middle of a round. Dip finger with water and run along edge of half the circle. Fold dough over to enclose the filling and press to seal, making slight indents (no pleats).
11. Wrap remaining – Place them on a lightly floured tray and continue to wrap remaining Pierogi (including rolling out the remaining dough). You should get ~30 pierogis.
12. In a non stick skillet, melt the butter until foamy over medium heat. Add onion and salt, then cook, stirring regularly, for 10 to 15 minutes until golden on the edges. Scrape out into a bowl, then set aside (OK to cool).
13. Batch cooking – Directions below are for cooking and serving 10. Boil pierogis in batches of 10 to 12 max, they need space to bounce around in the water, and you need space to toss them in the butter. (Note 4 for big batch cooking)
14. Boil 5 minutes – Bring ~3 litres/quarts of water to the boil with 1 tbsp salt. Lower 10 piergosi into the water. Cook for 5 minutes – they should be floating on the surface.
15. Reserve water & drain – Dip a jug into the water and scoop out ~1 cup water. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer pierogi into a bowl (or drain, if not cooking more).
16. Butter sauce – Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the onion butter plus the cooked pierogis with 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water. Toss for 1 minute, still on the stove, until the pierogis are coated in the butter. (Note 4 on scaling up)
17. Serve – Slide onto a serving plate, scraping out every drop of butter. Sprinkle with parsley, add a dollop of sour cream. Eat and be happy!

Notes

Recipe credits – Primarily adapted from this recipe from New York Times Cooking, with references to a whole bunch of other recipes. The main changes we made were process related.
Serving size – 4 to 5 pierogis with a side salad makes a nice meal. They are pretty rich, actually, being solely comprised of potato, cheese and butter!
1. Potatoes – Use your favourite mashing potatoes. All-rounder and floury / starchy potatoes are best. The most common potatoes stocked at regular stores should be good all-rounders.
Australia – Sebago (common dirt brushed potatoes), Desiree. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.
2. Cheese – Traditionally made with quark which is an European fresh cheese which isn’t easily found in Australia. While cottage cheese is probably the closest substitute, I’ve used shredded cheese which, as you can imagine, is a delicious alternative when it’s melted throughout the potato. 
I use cheddar but any good melting cheese you’d happily put in your grilled cheese is fine (tasty, gruyere, Colby). Give mozzarella a miss – doesn’t have enough flavour for this recipe.
3. Kneading – When you first mix the dough in the bowl and form into a ball, the surface is rough and shaggy. It is kneaded enough when the surface of the dough ball is smooth. See video at 1.39.
4. Batch cooking – Don’t boil more than 10 – 12 pierogis max in a large pot because they need room to bounce around. To cook lots, boil 10 – 12 at a time, scoop out and spread on a tray. Boil the next batch. Then just before serving, put them all back into the boiling water for 30 seconds to warm them back up. Drain, then toss in the butter sauce with a splash of the reserved cooking water.
Butter amount – You’ll need around 1 1/2 tbsp / 25g plus 2 tablespoons of the cooking water for 8 to 10 pierogis. For all 30, you’ll need around 70g / 4 1/2 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup water. You can eyeball it. Butter is not an exact science here!
5. Make ahead – Pierogis freeze 100% perfectly and can be boiled from frozen! Just add an extra 1 – 2 minutes to the cook time. Freeze in single layers in an airtight container. To save space, you can freeze them on a tray then bundle them into an airtight container.

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Sarah Miller

Hi, I’m Sarah Millar!
I’m a food blogger who loves creating quick and easy recipes that bring big flavor without the fuss. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated — and I’m here to share simple, fast food ideas that anyone can make at home. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll usually find me tasting new dishes, exploring cafés, or coming up with fresh food hacks to make everyday meals more fun.

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