Before I met my husband, I never even knew what a pierogi was. When I had one, well let’s just say it was love at first bite. These delicious little stuffed pasta pockets of potatoes are simply delicious. First you boil them and then sauté them in butter. Serve with caramelized onion and a little sour cream (if your diet permits). This is the same pasta dough as the ravioli, so when I am making these I do the fillings in advance for both and divide the dough in half, so Molly has more variety. Like the ravioli, you can freeze these – just add three minutes to the cooking time. We used a pasta crank to roll out the dough and cut the sheet into three inch circles. We used a dough press to stuff, seal and crimp the pierogi, but you can also do it by hand.
Pierogi
Before I met my husband, I never even knew what a pierogi was. When I had one, well let’s just say it was love at first bite. These delicious little stuffed pasta pockets of potatoes are simply delicious. First you boil them and then sauté them in butter. Serve with caramelized onion and a little sour cream (if your diet permits). This is the same pasta dough as the ravioli, so when I am making these I do the fillings in advance for both and divide the dough in half, so Molly has more variety. Like the ravioli, you can freeze these – just add three minutes to the cooking time. We used a pasta crank to roll out the dough and cut the sheet into three inch circles. We used a dough press to stuff, seal and crimp the pierogi, but you can also do it by hand.
Nutrition
Ingredients
Method
- CARAMELIZED ONIONS: Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until very soft and well browned, 15 to 20 minutes. If they start to dry out or burn, simply add a little water (tablespoon) to the pan as needed, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan (this is where the flavor is). Measure out 75 gm of the onions, chop them fine. Keep the rest to serve with the pierogi. 137 mg phe total, .6 mg/gm
- POTATO FILLING: Cover the potatoes by 1 inch of water in a large saucepan and add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender and a fork can be slipped easily into the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander.
- With a food mill or ricer, mash the potatoes into the bowl. Add the chopped caramelized onions. Stir in the butter and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cool slightly before filling the pierogi or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed, but no longer than 2 days. 262 mg phe total, .74 mg/gm
- PIEROGI: Cut about ¼ of dough from ball and flatten into a disk; rewrap remaining dough . Run dough through widest setting of a manual pasta machine. Bring ends of dough towards the middle and press down to seal. Run dough, open end first, through the widest setting again. Fold, seal, and roll again. Without folding, run pasta through widest setting about two more times, until dough is smooth. If at any point dough is super sticky, lightly dust with wheat starch. Continue to run dough through machine; narrow the setting each time, until you reach the number 3 or 4 setting on your pasta machine. Only roll one sheet at a time, fill and then repeat with remaining dough.
- If you do not have a pasta crank, then cut about ¼ of dough from ball and flatten into a disk; rewrap remaining dough. On a lightly starched work surface, roll pasta dough about 1/16 inch thick.
- Using a three inch round cutter, cut as many rounds as possible, cover in plastic wrap. Each round will weigh about 10 gm. Gather up dough scraps, wrap them in plastic and set them aside. Place 8 gm of filling (1 rounded teaspoon) in the center of each dough round. Moisten the edge with water. Fold the dough in half over the filling making a half moon shape. Pinch the seam along the edge to secure and crimp the seam using the tines of a fork. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel.
- Repeat with remaining dough. Gently knead all dough scraps together into a ball and repeat. The towel-covered baking sheet of pierogi can be wrapped with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. The pierogi can also be frozen for up to 1 month; when completely frozen, the pierogi can be transferred to a zipper-lock bag to save space in the freezer. Do not thaw before boiling.
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the desired amount of pierogi. Cook, stirring often, until the edges feel al dente, 3 to 4 minutes (6 to 70 minutes if frozen). Using a wire spider or slotted spoon, transfer the pierogi to a colander and set aside.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the boiled and drained pierogi and sauté until golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle the caramelized onions over the top and serve with dollop of sour cream if diet permits.
