Learning to Teach

I have been researching Polish history and culture so that we can teach our child about his/her heritage.  So this week I tried my first Polish recipe for dinner. So many of you are wondering what I attempted and how it turned out. But first let me say this I will be the first to tell you that I am not going to be trying out for Iron Chef in my life. My husband is a much better cook than I am(but he is really messy). So with that said I am super proud of myself with how my first attempt with Polish cooking turned out.

AWESOME!!

 If you not sure what your looking at the half-moon shaped things at the top of the plate are Pierogi. Pierogi are dumplings that are stuffed with potatoes or other various fillings.  I made my stuffing with potato, cheese, and onion. Pierogi was actually fairly easy to make and absolutely delicious.  The recipe is below and please try it out and experiment with different fillings.  

 

Pierogi Dough Recipe:
(source: About.com  Local Pittsburgh By Albrecht Powell, About.com Guide)

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup of sour cream(plus extra for dipping)

1/4 cup softened butter cut into small pieces 

     Mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg then add all at once to flour mixture. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and softened butter and work until dough loses most of its stickiness(about 5-7 minutes). Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight.

     Roll the dough on floured surface until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough 2" for small or 3" for large pierogi. Place a small ball of filling on each round and fold the dough over forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with a fork. Boil the perogi a few at time in a large pot of water until done( about 8-10 minutes they will float to the top). Rinse in cool water and let dry. Then pan fry pierogi in butter.

Filling:

Ingedients:

4- 5 large redskin potatoes

1 large onion

8oz cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and boil potatoes until soft. Saute onion in butter until translucent and soft. Mash together onions, potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. 

Some tips: put potatoes in the crock pot before you leave for the day so when you get home they are done and ready to mash.

if the pierogi doesn't want to stay together you may need to make an egg wash and brush the dough to help it stick together.

i used the same skillet to fry the pierogi as i did to saute the onion i just added more butter and it gives more onion flavor if you like that sort of thing.