Jean’s Pierogies

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Jean’s Pierogies

Filling Ingredients:

5 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and diced uniformly
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cottage cheese
salt and Naughty Nelly's Deadly Twelve Pepper Blend or a few cranks of the peppermill, to taste

Dough Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups warm water
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups all purpose flour
canola oil

Preparation:

Put potatoes and salt in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Remove the pot from the stove and drain the potatoes. Return them to the pot and place the pot on the stove for 2 minutes over low heat to help remove any excess moisture in the potatoes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Pour the cottage cheese into a fine mesh strainer and allow them to drain well over an open bowl or sink. Prepare the dough.

Combine the water, egg and salt and beat together in a bowl. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix well. Turn out to a bowl and knead in the fourth cup of flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Brush the dough with a light coating of oil and set aside under an inverted bowl for up to an hour.

While the dough is resting, mash the potatoes in any fashion you wish. Use a potato ricer for a smooth texture or fork mash for a lumpier texture. Then add the drained cottage cheese to the potatoes and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and Naughty Nelly's Deadly Twelve Pepper Blend and cool the filling.

Cut the dough in four pieces. Cover the unused pieces. Roll out the dough like a pie crust to 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or an inverted drinking glass, cut out 3 to 4 inch round pieces of the dough. Put a tablespoon of the cooled stuffing on one side, but not on the edge of the cut dough and fold the dough over making a semi-circle. Press the edges together with your fingers making sure there is no filling along the edge. You can also use the tines of a fork to make a crimp along the edge. Move the Pierogies to a clean lint free tea towel and set side by side, but not touching. Keep them covered with another tea towel so they don’t dry out.

NOTE: Sometimes the dough can dry out if you are not working quickly enough. If you notice that your edges are not sealing well, moisten them with a bit of water before crimping.

The Pierogies are now ready to be cooked or they can be refrigerated for a day or so, or frozen.

To cook the Pierogies, drop them into plenty of salted boiling water and gently stir with a wooden spoon to prevent them from sticking to each other or to the bottom of the pot. Do them in small batches to guarantee success. This is a recipe of patience. They will float to the top of the water after 4 or 5 minutes. Cook another minute or so and test one (Bonus) for tenderness of the dough. If they are perfect, remove them to a lightly oiled dish to coat them.

They can be served as is, topped with sour cream or with sautéed onions, bacon or both. They can also be sautéed in the butter with the onions for a browned and crispier outside texture. This is our choice of preparation.

CHEF'S NOTES: It is important that the filling is not runny or it will “bleed” to the edges making the pierogies impossible to seal properly. You can add sautéed onions and or mushrooms to the filling if you are not going to top them with those ingredients.

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