Avoid excess packaging by making your own pierogis!
You can buy frozen pierogies in the grocery store anytime, but having an official “friends and family” pierogi night is a whole lot of fun. You can stuff them with just about anything—meat, veggies, cheese, fruit fillings. The possibilities are endless and they are a great way to use up leftover cooked potatoes, a little leftover cooked protein, etc. Nobody can resist homemade pierogies sautéed in butter, and pierogi dough takes minutes to make with the aid of a food processor. My pierogi recipe combination of spelt and all-purpose flour gives the dough a slightly nutty quality. It rolls out easily and its elasticity makes it very forgiving, which really helps when working with kids.
Photograph by Reena Newman, Props by Laura Branson
Pierogi Dough
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp salt kosher
- 1/4 cup cold butter
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt fuller the fat the better
- desired pierogi filling
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse together flours with salt.
- Add in butter and pulse a few times until cut into pea sized pieces.
- Add remaining ingredients and continue to pulse until dough comes together into a ball, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer dough onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. If dough feels sticky, knead in a little more flour.Divide into 2 flattened rounds and wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest. Dough can stay like this for up to 2 days. Dough also freezes well, let thaw in fridge.
- To Fill Pierogies: Working on round at a time, roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Punch out circles with cookie cutter and fill with rounded tsp of desired filling. Resist overfilling! With fingers wrap dough around filling and pinch to seal edges. Dough should self seal but you can use a dab of water if necessary. You can also crimp with back of a fork.
- Re-roll scraps, just knead them up and pop back in fridge to chill another 10 minutes before re-rolling.
- To Cook Pierogies: Cook in boiling salted water until they float to the top, then strain and saute in butter.
SAVED MY LIFE: SPELT FLOUR
I started using spelt flour years ago when I was looking for a tastier replacement for whole wheat. I fell in love with its nutty flavour and was surprised at how easy it is to substitute into recipes. Try replacing 50 percent of your all-purpose flour in a recipe with spelt. It is milder, sweeter and more nutritious than whole wheat. It is not gluten-free though, which is why it is so easy to incorporate into recipes without compromising texture. You can find it now in almost any bulk food, health, or organic section of a grocery store.
PIEROGI RECIPE TIPS
• The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Resist overfilling the pierogis or they may explode when cooked.
• Freeze pierogies in a single layer on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer into freezer-safe bags to maximize storage space. Cook the same as you would the ones you buy in the frozen food aisle. Boil from frozen until they float, then sauté in butter or oil until golden brown.
Pierogi Filling on next page.
