We Zdepskis, who identify as Ukrainian, have the curious oddity that our grandmother Eudokia (Gula) Zdepski use many Polish words for food. So we ate Pierogi and Golwumpki and not Vareniki nor Holubtsi. There are 2 posts one the site where Pierogi feature prominently. By any name, they taste great.
Ingredients:
5 lbs of white potatos
1/2 lb of bacon
2 medium onions
1 lbs of pot cheese/farmers cheese
5 lbs of AP flour (You will make dough several times, so different quantaties are needed. Just be sure
you have plenty on hand)
6 eggs. (same note as flour, don’t be caught short)
Water ( about a 1/2 at at time when making dough)
Procedure:
Filling:
Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil until soft. Drain and set aside to cool.
Dice the bacon in to small bits. Dice the onions also into small bits. In a skillet, fry the bacon and onions together. Do not discard the bacon fat.
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, gravy & onions (including the rendered pork fat) and the 1 lb of farmers cheese. Mix it will together with a potato masher and add salt and pepper to taste.
Dough:
A key to a good pierogi as that the dough should not be rubbery or tough, meaning you don’t want over work, nor let the dough sit too long as it will form gluten chains. Dough is made 1 egg at a time and used. It is good to have a partner in caloric crime to be making dough as each back is used up.
On a flat surface, make mound of 3 to 3 1/2 cups of flour. If you have large eggs make the mound on the larger end of the scale, for small eggs on the smaller eggs. Make a indentation on top and break the egg into the well, making sure the yoke is broken. Add water and mix until you get a consistent soft dough with no lumps. Again, don’t over work it or it will be like shoe leather.
On a floured surface roll the dough out to a consistent 1/8 inch thickness.
Assembly:
Assembly involves cutting dough into small circles, preparing it by placing the round in your done dominant hand and using the side of your dominant hand to stretch a small pocket by using a sideways rolling motion of the side of your hand. Now you put a spoon of the filling into the center, fold the edges of the dough round and pinch it closed. Dipping a finger in water and just damping the edge before pinching can ensure a good seal.
Gently drop into a large pot of boiling water and when they float to the top they are cooked. This will take 5-6 minutes and you can remove them with a slotted spoon or birds nest basket. The only thing that needs to be cooked is the dough, everything else has been precooked so they go fast.
You can put your finished pierogi in a bowl with a little butter to keep them from sticking and cover with foil until you have enough to eat. You can also little flour and dust the outsides and freeze them for another day.
The Eating:
You now have the decision about how to consume your pierogi.
#1 lightly butter them.
#2 pan fry them to get a little browning on the dough and eat them with butter
#3 same as #1-2, but substitute (or just add) a dollop of sour cream
#4 (the author favorite) Top them with some very hot Haitian Mango Chutney!
#5 Top them with Grammy Z’s White Gravy.
Since butter, sour cream and chutney come in containers, and only the gravy requires prep, is strongly recommended to make the gravy, open the tubs/jars and have it all 4 ways!
Other adaptations would be to add Kosichka (think smoked string cheese), or some shredded cooked cabbage to the filling. Some very sharp chedder or asiago are also a good addition. Mushrooms or a diced meat other than bacon are also good.
White Gravy:
Ingredients:
1/2 lb of bacon (The chicken was supportive of this meal, but the pig is totally committed!)
1 medium onion
1-2 Tbsp of AP flour
1 qt of milk.
Procedure:
Finally chop the onion and the bacon. Fry them together as you did for the pierogi filling, rendering the bacon fat and leaving crunchy bacon bits. (adding some small sliced mushrooms to the the gravy would be a nice addition if you want to change it up.) Now reduce heat and estimate the amount of fat. You will add as much flour as you have fat and whisk it continuously until you have a pasty roux with no lumps, and it has cooked enough that you the flour will not taste raw. When you have a good consistency add the milk, whisk until the bacon and onion are uniformly distributed in the milk/roux mixture. Now raise the heat to medium or medium low and reduce until you have consistency that is perhaps a little looser than sour cream. A dash of pepper if you want, and you are ready for topping your Pierogi.
The author has asked many a Babushka or their offspring of both Ukrainian and Polish extraction if they have ever had this White Gravy to ease the consumption of their “fat pill” potato dumplings. I have never gotten an affirmative reply, and I have asked in South Bound Brook, New Brunswick, and California. So definitely try the gravy, it is somewhat unique.
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