A culinary homecoming, simultaneously opening up the world

Every cuisine, I’ve come to believe, has some variation of bread folded around a filling: ban mi, panzerotti, calzones, sub sandwiches, po’ boys, felafel in pitas, the infinite variability of tacos and enchiladas, etc. etc. etc. (And if they didn’t start out with one, they invent one fast – I’ve got a real weakness for the naan wraps the Indian place in my university food court makes …) I consider dumplings – jiaozi, gyoza, momos, potstickers – to be a closely related category, and similarly, it’s a format found in the widely variant cuisines of many cultures. This month, the Daring Cooks went in for a variety of dumpling that took me back to my own roots, or at least some of them (kinda, sorta, more or less): we made pierogi.

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Now, as I understand the migrations of my paternal grandmother’s family (the branch most associated with the pierogi-eating parts of the world), they were German Catholics who spent some time living in Russia, elected to move to Argentina to avoid joining the Tsar’s armies, went back to Germany, and thence to the Canadian prairies (where my grandmother was born), where they were surrounded by Ukrainians. So, while it’s not entirely clear to me whether pierogis are a traditional German food, at least my family lived in pierogi-eating parts of the world for a good long time.

However, just because we’ve got some history with the pierogi doesn’t mean I felt constrained to try to recreate the Russian- or Polish-style pierogi, though I did take some inspiration from there.

I started by making (small-ish) quantities of four different fillings, to give myself some direction as well as some variety. I do really love the mashed potato fillings and so I had to try that, but I added some garlic and black pepper to the fried onion, and skipped most of the cheese – instead of an entire cup of dry cottage cheese, I went with a few tablespoons of finely grated sharp cheddar. I also made a cabbage filling, but instead of sauerkraut I used the mustardy smothered cabbage recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen. I also made a few pierogi using the sauteed jalapeno corn from the same book. Finally, thinking of the mushroom “caviar” I’ve made once to top buckwheat pancakes, I concocted a mushroom-and-shallot filling with a slug of red wine vinegar. We ultimately fried them in a bit of butter after boiling, and ate them with some good bacon, sour cream, and chives snipped from one of my plants. Along with a gigantic spinach salad to make me feel like the meal approximated some balance.

The best of the four fillings, by far, were the potato-onion-cheese filling, and the cabbage; the mushrooms were tasty, but had a tendency to slide out of the pierogi shell, and the flavour of the (otherwise delicious) jalapeno corn was overwhelmed. So, when I was prevailed upon to join a friend’s freezer swap, I went with the potato and cabbage pierogis – and have since concluded that, delicious though they are, folding 150-odd pierogis is just about the most time-consuming job I can imagine. I’ll definitely be making pierogis again in the future – just not as a main meal for twelve. And next time, I’ll save the jalapeno corn for a meal where it can shine, and serve the mushrooms on top of the pierogis.

Pierogi Dough

2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
About 1 cup lukewarm water

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then make a well in the centre, pour in the egg and water, and knead to form a soft, elastic dough. I found it helpful to let it rest for a half hour to an hour before I tried to roll it out.

Roll out the dough thinly, and cut into circles using a glass or a 4″ biscuit cutter.

Spoon in a tablespoon or so of filling, fold over the edges, and press together using the tines of a fork.

The pierogi can be frozen at this point, or they can be dropped into a large pot of boiling water. They will float to the top when they are cooked; at this point, they can be eaten as they are, or fried briefly to give a bit of crispness to the shell, or frozen.

Potato, Onion, and Cheese Filling (adapted from the posted Daring Cooks recipe)

3 medium red-skinned potatoes
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper to taste
paprika
4 Tbsp grated sharp cheddar
1 egg white
2 Tbsp yoghurt (optional; I added it to get my potatoes a little creamier)
up to 2 Tbsp butter (again, to make the potatoes creamier)

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, fry the onions and garlic in a little butter or olive oil in a cast-iron skillet until the onion is caramelized.

Roughly chop the boiled potatoes (no need to peel them) and add then to the skillet with the onions. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula or a potato masher, mash the potatoes together with the onion and garlic.

Transfer to a large bowl (I found it easier to manage this way) and continue mashing to your preferred consistency (I like mine to be whipped potatoes), adding in the egg white, cheese, yoghurt, and butter as well as the seasonings.

Jalapeno Corn (adapted from Vegan Soul Kitchen)

Note: I’m sure this is sublime with fresh corn, but it works fine with frozen, too.

2 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn
1 jalapeno, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
salt & pepper to taste

Saute the jalapeno, garlic, and cumin in a little olive oil. Add in the corn. Continue to saute until the corn is fully cooked; stir in a little salt and pepper, taste, and adjust the seasonings.

Mushroom, Shallot, and Red Wine Vinegar Pierogi Filling

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan, and saute the mushrooms and shallot in the olive oil. When the mushrooms are limp and the shallot is golden, pour in the red wine vinegar.

Let the pot simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

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