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Life
Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2009
Perogies with Potato Cheese Filling
In the vast universe of comfort food, perogies have an entire rich galaxy all to themselves. This delicious area of space, known as the sour-creamy-way, is densely populated with subtle variations on a basic theme: a delightful filling of some kind wrapped in a simple flour dough, then boiled, then bathed in something fatty and delicious.
The recipe below is for my favourite (and probably the most common) type of filling: potatoes and cheddar. Try to eat a plate of these covered with sauteed onions and sour cream and not smile contentedly. I don't think it can be done. Unfortunately, perogies have way too many calories to put them in my regular menu rotation, but as an occasional treat, especially when the weather starts to turn cool in the fall, I would be hard-pressed to think of something more satisfying.
There are many, many perogy recipes floating around on the internet. This one is a bit of a family tradition.
Ingredients
Filling:5 medium-sized potatoes (about 2.5 lbs)
8 oz. old cheddar, in 1/2 inch cubes (or more depending on taste)
1/2 onion, minced
1/4 cup butter
salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Dough:1-1/2 cups water
3 Tbl vegetable oil
1 egg
4-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
Coating:1 onion chopped coarsely
3/4 cup butter
Directions
Sautee the minced onion in the butter. Peel, quarter and boil the potatoes. Drain the potatoes, add the onions and butter, and mash. Put the cubes of cheese on top of the steaming potato/onion mixture until they melt. Mix the cheese in with a spoon, then beat everything smooth with a hand mixer.
Set the filling aside to cool.
Combine water, egg and oil and mix well. Add flour and 1 tsp of salt. Knead until smooth and soft (around 8 minutes). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Chop the onions for the coating, melt the butter in a frying pan, and sautee the onions until tender, 5-10 minutes. Turn heat to low.
After the 30 minute dough rest is over, put a large pot of water on to boil.
Take the dough out of the fridge and cut into four equal pieces. Knead each piece individually until absolutely smooth. Put three of the pieces in a bowl and cover with a tea-towel to keep them moist. Roll the other piece with a rolling pin until it is as thin as possible.
Using a 3 inch cutter or glass (a typical tumbler is roughly the right diameter), cut the dough into circular pieces. Take about a tablespoon of filling and roll it into a ball between your hands. Put the ball in the center of one of the dough circles and make the filling slightly oblong. Bring the opposite sites of the circle together to make a half-moon shape and pinch the edges of the dough together.
Lay the finished perogies out on a cookie sheet. I prefer to boil each batch as I make it, but it's fine to make them all before you start boiling them. (Just put tea towels in between the layers of perogies on the cookie sheet to keep them from sticking to eachother.) Drop the perogies into boiling water in batches of eight or so. Cook them until they start floating to the top, which usually takes a few minutes.
Remove the floating perogies with a slotted spoon, draining as much water as possible. Put each perogy in the serving bowl.
When the entire batch has been removed, spoon some of the butter/onion mixture on top and swish everything around in the bowl to coat it well.
Repeat for the other three pieces of dough.
Yields about 3 dozen decadent perogies. Serve with sour cream, and optionally, bacon bits, chives, etc. Some people like to fry the perogies as well, but I think they're just fine the way they are.
