Polish Pierogi Potato Filled Dumplings

These Potato filled dumplings known as “pierogi” are a popular dish in many Polish households, and a bit throughout Eastern Europe. These delicious dumplings are a staple of Polish cuisine for centuries, these variety is known in Poland as Pierogi Ruskie. Although like most dumplings, Pierogi can be filled with a variety of fillings, but the potato filling with bacon and cheese is the most traditional.

These do take some time to prep, especially if you are making from scratch, so its best to just make a big batch, so you can freeze the rest to use later, also its pretty common to just boil the pierogi or to boil and then shallow fry, i prefer the boil and then fry a bit like japanese gyoza, its just more flavorful and it has a better consistency.

So this recipe should make you about 36 pierogi, after you mold them you can freeze them, so when you need to make some you can just boil them or boil and fry, easy and delicious, lets check the recipe!

Polish Pierogi Potato Filled Dumplings

Servings: 36
Time: 2hr 30mins
Difficulty: Hard
Rating: ★★★★★
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Pierogi is a traditional dumpling from Poland that is easy to make and incredibly delicious, its perfect as a main course, side dish or even a snack.

Ingredients

Ricotta Cheese – 500gr (Or other white, slightly sweet type of cottage cheese)
Potatoes – 500gr
Bacon – 120gr
Mint – A Pinch (Finely Diced)
Pepper – A Pinch
Salt – A Pinch
Onion – 1 Small
Olive oil – To Taste
Unleavened Flour – 450gr
Egg – 1
Water – As Needed (Helps create a more elastic dough)
Flour – To Sprinkle

Directions

Peel and boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt, when they are tender (poke them with a knife if it goes in easily then the potato is done), drain and mash them, preferably with a masher, which creates a fluffier texture.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the bacon and onion and fry them in a frying pan until crispy, put it aside to cool.
After you have the mashed potatoes ready, add a pinch of diced mint and add the fried bacon and onion, season everything with a pinch of salt and pepper and put everything together, taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

Now prepare the dough, put the flour in a pile, open a hole in the middle and add the egg and 3 tablespoons of boiling water and a pinch of salt, start kneading, add more hot water if necessary, knead well until you create a smooth and shiny dough, if necessary you can also sprinkle with flour to prevent it from sticking.

Knead well until you create a ball of dough, cover it and let it relax for about 20 minutes.

Now roll out the dough, if it’s too much, cut the dough ball in half and roll out only one half, you want thin dough, then cut circles, fill with the mashed potato mix and close the dumpling, if you have a mold it’s easier but you can also do it by hand and close each pastry with a fork pressing the sides, repeat until you have no more dough or mashed potato filling.

Heat a pan with plenty of water and a pinch of salt, pour only a few pierogi at a time into the water and let them float to the surface, when they are at the surface let them cook each side for a few minutes, remove from the water to a rack or serving tray with paper to drain.

The pierogi are ready to serve, they are usually served like this boiled or you can, after boiling them (as in my case), add them to a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil and fry them until they are golden brown.

Serve them with some sour cream, enjoy!

Notes: You can also serve the pierogi just cooked, and the leftover pierogi you can heat up later by frying. Often pierogi are served with caramelized onions, fried bacon, or sour cream. You can also prep some of the work and make the filling the day before.

Pierogi have a variety of fillings, like potato and other cheeses (like cheddar, mascarpone, cream cheese), with seasoned potatoes like with caramelized onions, or with sauerkraut, sauteed onions and mushrooms (these are common for Christmas), or ground meat with onions and mushrooms.

There are also some sweet more desert type versions, like with cheese (polish twarog cheese, this is similar to quark cheese), sugar and egg yolks. Or filled with fruits, preservers or combined with jams.

This recipe for Polish Pierogi Potato Filled Dumplings was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Pastel Pierogi Polaco foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.