Pierogi Pasta

Pierogi are one of the most typical dishes of Polish cuisine . Basically, it consists of stuffed pasta of different varieties. You could say that they are quite similar to ravioli.

Pierogi are a stuffed pasta with a semicircular shape similar to the dumpling we all know, although cooked in water like a ravioli but, in turn, fried in plenty of butter and/or oil.

A pieróg can be filled with a multitude of varieties as I have previously mentioned (meat, fruit, cabbage, etc.) but, in this case, we are going to focus on the traditional filling of cheese, onion and mashed potato .

So that the filling of these pierogi is at its exact point, we must cook the potatoes the day before . This will make the mashed potato dry and not moisten the pierog dough. A trick that works very well is to cook the potatoes in the microwave, this in addition to saving time means that the potatoes do not come out as watery as boiled. If you opt for this method, you just have to wash the potatoes (with skin), wrap them in transparent film (suitable for microwaves), prick each one a couple of times with the tip of a knife , place in a container suitable for microwave and heat for 7 to 10 minutes. The potatoes will be ready when, when pierced with a knife, it inserts without problems.

On the other hand, the cheese that we are going to use will be cottage cheese or ricotta , (the Polish cheese that is used is difficult to find) since these cheeses are quite moist, we must try to make them as dry as possible. For this we can place the cottage cheese in a fine mesh for 24 hours in the fridge and let it lose excess water. In this way we will have perfect pierogi.

Each pieróg should be filled with plenty of stuffing , so don't be afraid to put enough stuffing in it, even if it seems that the diameter (8 cm) of the dough won't be enough to close it, don't worry, the dough is very elastic and will close perfectly . Likewise, you should not fear the fineness of this dough (3 mm), the finer it is, the better it will cook and, if you have a rolling pin with measuring discs , this process will be "sewing and singing".

T&G acacia wood shovel , Pallarès carbon steel knives and Skeppshult cast iron skillet

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 250 g of boiled potato (see introduction)
• 250 g drained ricotta cheese (see introduction)
• 2 medium onions cut into fine cubes
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• dill to taste
• A handful of sea salt
• a pinch of pepper

For the mass:

• 300 g of common wheat flour (9% protein)
• 1 egg L at room temperature
• 20 g melted butter
• 120 ml of lukewarm water
• a pinch of sea salt

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until golden. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl , crush the boiled and peeled potatoes with the cheese, chopped dill, salt and pepper. Once we have the golden onions we pass them to this mixture and incorporate very well. We form about 25 balls and reserve.
2. In a large bowl we sift the flour and make a volcano, in the center we add the egg, melted butter, salt and we knead with a wooden shovel while we slowly pour the warm water. Once all the elements have been put together, we begin to knead for 5 minutes with our hands until we obtain an elastic and smooth dough. Let stand covered for a few minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 4 parts and cover 3 of them with a cloth so they don't dry out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the parts of the dough with the help of a rolling pin , leaving a thickness of 3 mm. We cut circles of about 8 cm and each of them we put a ball of filling. To close the pierogi it is only necessary to place it in the palm of our hand and stretch it slightly, leaving a crescent shape. To seal the pierogi we can pinch the edges as you can see in the images or if it's easier for you, use a fork. We reserve them on a floured surface so they don't stick and are easy to handle.
4. Put about 50 g of butter in a cast-iron skillet over a very low heat and let it melt together with a sprig of dill. We booked.
5. Put the pierogi in batches in a pot with boiling water and salt. At first they will submerge in the water but once they float we must cook them for exactly 2 minutes. After this time we will remove them and in turn introduce them into the pan with the butter.
6. Cook the pierogi in butter until the base is lightly golden. Serve the pierogi drizzling with melted butter, chopped fresh dill and a few flakes of salt.

T&G acacia wood shovel