Mom’s pierogies: ‘nuff said

Save the potato water!

No, not an obscure environmental cause; it’s the secret to my mom’s pierogi recipe.

I’ve hesitated to do these for a test kitchen because I figure if you grew up with a homemade pierogi recipe that’s your favorite, nothing can compete, and if you never made them they can be daunting. Yet these have been so well received by guests over the years, why not share?

And I always make some this time of year, for Christmas Eve dinner.

Regular readers know my family had traditional foods, including boiled potatoes. When I started cooking the Dec. 24 meal, I replaced the boiled potatoes with pierogies, which meant asking Mom for the recipe, which, of course, had never been written down. So giving exact amounts and directions is tricky. I did my best to actually measure and provide firm numbers, but this is a trial and error thing.

The one error I made — that you don’t have to — is in the dough. Mom initially told me about 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, one egg and one cup water, adjusting the water to get the right consistency (a little sticky to the hands when done kneading, but not leaving any dough on your fingers or the kneading surface).

I followed those directions my first time and they didn’t taste as good as I remembered. I told Mom, and she pulled that classic parent move of adding a really important bit previously left out, and adding it as though it was so obvious you shouldn’t need to be told.

“Did you use the potato water in your dough?”

Not that first time, but ever since. It makes a big difference.

This recipe should give you 25-40 pierogies, depending on how thin you roll the dough and how big you make the pierogi squares. The dough is straightforward as far as measuring quantities. The filling is where the trial and error come into play. My approach:

• About four good-size potatoes for one dough. If some are smaller I’ll usually add a tater. You can always eat the unused filling as a cheesy mashed potato side. I’ve used different types of spuds and settled on Yukon Gold, or some other “gold” potato when Yukons are unavailable.

• Mom used less expensive, pre-sliced cheese and added it one slice at a time to the still-hot potatoes while beating with an electric mixer. I prefer extra-sharp, usually Cracker Barrel, two 8-ounce bricks for one batch of pierogies. I shred about 12 ounces while the taters boil but keep the rest nearby. I add it to the potatoes a handful at a time, literally to taste, sampling the results after every few handfuls. You can make it as cheesy as you want; I like it pretty tangy. And again, if you shredded more than you need, the left over can be used as you like on sandwiches or such, or just gobbled down.

• Getting the right amount of filling into each pierogi is also a matter of time and taste, especially since I usually end up with unevenly-sized squares of rolled out dough. You can measure more precisely (or use some type of square or round cookie cutter) to get uniform shapes. I add or remove filling during the sealing of the dough, being careful not to get any in where the dough is sealed. That can lead to the seam opening in the boiling water, leaving you weak potato soup and soggy empty dough.

Lastly, as the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival annually proves, you can fill these pockets with a lot of different things (Mom also did sauerkraut pierogies and prune pierogies), saute instead of boil, and saute an onion to go on top with the melted butter. I love them straight up, boiled and topped with melted butter.

To freeze them I let them dry in the air for an hour or two, turning every 30 minutes or so, then put them in the freezer still on a cookie sheet until they get really hard. Put them in a sealable plastic bag and they’ll last for months. You can probably skip the air drying and go straight to freezer, but the important part is to NOT put them in a plastic bag before they get to dry out. Some websites also suggest par-boiling them before freezing, but I’ve never done that.

Merry Christmas, and

Dobru Chut!

Mom’s pierogies

3-5 potatoes depending on size.

8-12 ounces extra sharp white cheddar cheese

2 cups flour

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt.

1 cup (more, if needed) water reserved after boiling the potatoes

Melted butter to taste

Peel the potatoes, slice thickly or cube and boil in salted water until soft. Save the water

Grate or thinly slice the cheese.

Once potatoes are done and drained, put immediately into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cheese a handful or two at a time to taste, still beating so it can melt and blend well into the mashed potatoes. Set aside.

Mix flour, salt and egg with about 1 cup of the reserved potato water using dough hooks. Once dough forms, knead a little, adding flour if it gets too sticky. It should form a ball that is still a tad tacky in your hands, but without pulling away and staying on your fingers.

Roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 20 inches by 15, and cut into squares. The size is up to you. Small squares make smaller pierogies, but bigger squares mean fewer pierogies to fill, fold and seal. I usually cut them around 3 inches or more. If some come out rectangular, just fold in half instead of in a triangle.

Put a dollop of potato-cheese filling in the center of each square.

Fill a small bowl with water. Dip a finger or two into the water and spread it onto two joining sides of a square. Fold the dry corner of the square over the filling to the damp corner of the square and press the dry and wet sides of the triangle together, sealing in the potato filling. Pinch firmly.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add pierogies. Gently stir once in a while until they start to float, to keep them from sticking on the bottom. Cook for a few minutes until all pierogies are floating happily at the top of the roiling water. Either remove them with a slotted spoon or drain them into a colander. Put in a serving bowl, pour melted butter on them and serve.