Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013

Perogies

Pierogi, Perogy, Pierogy… it’s all the same.  These babies rank in the top 5 of ultimate comfort foods in my books.  And so easy to make!  Although they are slightly time consuming, it goes by quickly when you have a partner on hand.  Gav and I made these over the long weekend and we both LOVED them.  Fry them up with some garlic sausage & onions…nummers!  We froze the rest so we will have plenty left for the future-we don’t eat perogies often but really enjoy homemade ones when we do. 

5 years ago I decided to make perogies on a whim, and failed.   The dough was impossible!  I called Gavin at work while having a supreme meltdown, and he promptly came and we started over.  They turned out well, however we didn’t freeze them properly and couldn’t really use them for leftovers.  Since then, I have learned from our mistakes & look forward to making more in the future.  

You can change the fillings to whatever you like-sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese or even fruit (weird!) but I prefer cheesy, cheesy potato filled perogies loaded with bacon.  Yum!

Perogies

Makes 5 ½-6 dozen perogies

Ingredients:

For the dough:

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1 ½ cup water, approximately

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the perogy filling:

3 pounds potatoes

3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup sour cream

½ cup green onions, thinly sliced

½ package bacon, cooled and cut into small sized pieces

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Garlic sausage

1 onion

butter, for frying

additional sour cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS

For the dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough attachment, add in the dough and the salt. Stir until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water & oil. Stir into the flour mixer and mix until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.  Continue to knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.  Let rest for 20 minutes. 

For the perogy filling:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain & transfer to a large bowl. Mash well.

Stir in the cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, bacon, black pepper & salt.  Set aside.

Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness (you may want to separate the dough into quarters). Use a 3 inch round cutter (or a cup), cut into rounds. Place about 1-1 ½ teaspoon of the filling on each round, fold over filling and pinch the edges together to seal well.

Repeat with the remaining dough & filling.  

To freeze:

Place the perogies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, ensuring they don’t overlap. Freeze for 24 hours, remove & place in freezer bags to the amount per bag desired.

To cook:

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, place the perogies in batches & stir gently. They will float once cooked and tender. Remove using a slotted spoon & drain.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent, adding in the garlic sausage halfway through. Add in the perogies and cook until slightly golden.

Serve with sour cream and enjoy!

Source: Savory Perogy Dough from Canadian Living