PIEROGI RUSKIE — MY FAVOURITE WINTER DUMPLINGS

These are my favourite winter pierogi – although knedle are still my year-round favourites. This is a traditional filling from the area where I come from, although confusingly we call their filling ‘Russian’.

You can replace the twaróg in this recipe with other mild white cheese, ricotta works very well. {Serves 2}

FOR THE DOUGH

300 g (10½ oz/2½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

large pinch of salt

100 ml (3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup) warm water (from a boiled kettle)

FOR THE FILLING

2 onions

2 tablespoons salted butter

150 g (5 oz) twaróg or other soft cheese

1 potato, peeled, cooked and diced

salt and white pepper, to taste

Make the dough by combining the flour with the egg yolks, melted butter, salt and enough of the warm water to bring the mixture together in a medium bowl. Knead the mixture until it is smooth (10 minutes should suffice), adding more water if you need it. Cover with a damp tea towel (dish towel) and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Chop your onions very finely and fry them in 1 tablespoon of butter. Combine the twaróg (or other soft cheese) with half of the fried onions, diced cooked potato and season to taste with salt and pepper (some cheeses are saltier than others so it’s important to season to taste).

Roll out your dough as thinly as possible on a floured surface. Use either pierogi method, filling them with the potato and cheese mixture. Have some water on standby to help you seal the edges if the dough is a little bit too dry to stick together.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and carefully lower the pierogi into the water (you’ll need to cook these in two batches). As soon as the pierogi float to the top, after about 4–5 minutes, leave them to cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the frying pan of buttery onions.

Fry the pierogi for a minute or two, making sure they are all covered in the buttery onion mixture. Serve immediately.

{Time: 45 minutes}