A Pierogi Story
By Anna Fishman at December 29, 2009 | 9:39 am | Print
During a month when fairytales, fables, and stories play such an important role to many family celebrations, this foodie though it was time to introduce a Polish parable…
Once upon a time, there was a little dumpling named Pieróg. Pieróg was born sometime during the 16th century in a small village within today’s Poland, for the Kucharski family’s Christmas dinner. Mama Kucharski mixed flour with eggs, sour cream, and a pinch of salt. But mixing these ingredients wasn’t enough—she squeezed and pulled until the dough was smooth and pliable. Meanwhile, daughter Kucharski rendered a piece of pork back in a large skillet, then browned ½ of a minced onion with ½ kilo of ground beef with salt and a shredded dinner roll. While the meat cooled, Mama rolled the dough to be slightly thicker than a pie and cut several circles with a glass.
Now, you may think we are finished with Pieróg’s story, with the completion of dough and filling. But if you know anything about making little dumplings like Pieróg, you understand that the proof is in the stuffing, so to speak. The swiftest form of demise for little Pieróg would have been an improperly sealed or punctured dough. Rather than a destiny upon the happy tastebuds of appreciative Kucharski’s, a damaged Pieróg’s only future would be the waste pile, after the leakage of valuable filling into uncaring cooking water. Thankfully, Mama Kucharski knew what she was doing—she gently pressed the dough disc in her left palm using the heel of her right hand, then added one spoonful of meat. Little Pieróg was sealed in a series of deft pinches, reinforced with flour to control meat spillover, and water to ensure dough closure. Then Mama Kucharski did something that made Pieróg worthy of the Kucharski surname. She made her signature crimp by pinching the tip of Pieróg between her thumb and side of the index finger, and then lifting and pinching theedge at regular intervals with her thumb—if Pieróg were a little girl, her hair would be braided.
While Pieróg was boiling in a pot with her fellow pierogi, Mama Kucharski stuffed others with kapusta (sauerkraut with pork), sweetened white cheese, and cherries. Nearby, other families prepared derelye, pirohy, and vareniki—all the same as pierogi, with Slavic origin. The rest of Pieróg’s fairytale is a bit of a mystery- due to upheaval and change in today’s Poland, the origin of pierogi remains “somewhere in Russia.” Luckily, Pieróg isn’t one of those “happily ever after” stories… new variations are constantly being created and not just in Poland—in fact, a Mrs. T is reinventing Pieróg’s story and introducing something that pierogis of yesteryear never experienced—the flash freezer. But you, dear reader, do not have to rely on Mrs. T for pierogi—you can have a batch of your own… the recipe below is most common in the US. Remember… Pieróg was happiest while being eaten.
Anna’s Potato Pierogi
4 potatoes, peeled, sliced
½ tsp salt
¾ c super sharp cheddar
½ c minced onion
1 tblsp butter
3 ½ cups flour
½ cup sour cream
3 eggs
½ tsp salt
In a skillet, melt butter and sauté onion until translucent. Meanwhile, boil sliced potatoes until soft. Drain potatoes, mix in onion/cheese/salt. Mixture should be firm. Cool to room temperature.
To make dough, mix flour, sour cream, eggs, and salt in bowl until dough forms. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes, until smooth and pliable. Roll dough to ¼ in thickness, sprinkling generously with flour to prevent sticking. Cut 3-in diameter circles with a glass. Press circles in palm to flatten and place ~1 tblsp filling in the center. Anchor pierog with one palm, using your fingers to stuff dough toward center, while pinching with fingers of the opposing hand. Crimp pierog by “braiding” with thumb or by fold-over pinching with thumb and index finger.
Boil 8-10 pierogi in soup pot for 6-8 minutes. If desired, pan fry pierogi before serving.
Anna Fishman
www.thesaltedlemon.blogspot.com
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