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LeetDiet

Pierogi

The dough wants warm water and a long rest. Rushing it is why they tear.

380
kcal
12g
protein
11g
fat
58g
carbs
Prep
60 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
6

Photograph by https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 lb potatoes, boiled
  • 7 oz farmer cheese
  • 2 onions, one for the filling and one to serve

Method

  1. 1

    Mix the flour, water, egg and sour cream to a soft dough. Knead 8 minutes, then rest covered for 30 minutes — this is not optional.

  2. 2

    Fry one onion until golden and mash it with the potato and cheese. Season heavily; the filling tastes flat once wrapped.

  3. 3

    Roll the dough thin, cut circles, fill, and seal the edges firmly with dry fingers.

  4. 4

    Boil in batches in well-salted water. They are done 90 seconds after they float.

  5. 5

    Serve with the second onion, fried in butter.

The rest is not optional

Thirty minutes covered, minimum. Kneading develops gluten and leaves it tense; the dough will fight you and spring back every time you roll it, and pierogi rolled from unrested dough tear at the seams. Resting lets the gluten network relax and the flour finish hydrating, and the dough goes from fighting to cooperative.

The sour cream in the dough is there to shorten it slightly — the fat interferes with gluten development just enough to keep the wrapper tender rather than chewy.

Season the filling much more than seems right

This is the mistake almost everyone makes once. The filling is tasted on its own, seasoned to taste, then wrapped in unsalted dough and boiled in water — and it arrives at the table noticeably bland. Season it until it tastes slightly too salty by itself and it will be correct in the finished pierogi.

Frying the onion for the filling until genuinely golden, not merely translucent, is the other half of the flavour.

Sealing them

Dry fingers, and press firmly along the whole edge. Flour on the sealing surface is the enemy — it prevents the two sides bonding, and those are the ones that burst. If the edge has gone dry, a dab of water helps, but a fresh, slightly tacky edge seals better than a wet one.

Ninety seconds after they float

They rise when the filling heats and the air inside expands, and at that point the dough on top has not yet cooked. Ninety seconds more finishes it. Boiling them hard is a mistake; a vigorous boil knocks them against each other and splits the seams.

Fried afterwards

Boiled pierogi are the traditional form. Boiled and then fried in butter until the outside blisters and browns is the better one, and it is what to do with leftovers the next day.

What they are worth nutritionally

380 kcal a serving with 58 g of carbohydrate — this is a carbohydrate-led dish and there is no version of it that is not. 12 g of protein comes from the farmer cheese and the egg. Serving them with a sharp salad rather than more butter is the realistic lever.