Ruskie Pierogi Or Potatoe and Cheese Pierogi

Ingredients

For Filling:
2 pounds Potatoes (I use Whites)
1 1/2 cups Farmers Cheese (see note after recipe)
2 tablespoons Butter
Optional:
For Dough:
3 cups Flour (I use unbleached)
1 Egg
1 cup Water, roughly
1 cup Additional Flour for kneading, roughly

Preparation

1
For the Filling, Peel, dice, and boil Potatoes until soft.
2
In the meantime, dice Onion and caramelize in Butter.
3
When Potatoes are finished boiling, drain well.
4
Add Farmers Cheese and mash together.
5
Add Onion and mix.
6
Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
7
If desired, stir in the herb of your choice. I made 1/2 of the dough with Dill.
8
Leftover filling can be used as a side for dinner the next day or frozen for use in another batch of pierogi.
9
For the Dough, In a bowl, place the Flour.
10
Form a well in the center and add Egg.
11
Mix the Egg with a knife.
12
Mix with the rest of the Flour.
13
Add water until the dough is soft and loose.
14
On counter, add additional Flour and knead dough until it is smooth, elastic, and much more difficult to knead.
15
Allow to rest for about 15 minutes, covered.
16
Cut in half.
17
Roll out until as thin as possible. The thinner, the tastier.
18
Cut in about 4 inch circles. You can use a cup, cookie cutter, a circle sandwich cutter, etc.
19
Dip finger in water and lightly dampen 1/2 of the circle.
20
Place filling in center.
21
Fold over, making sure that no air has been sealed inside. Pinch closed. I prefer doing with my fingers, but you can do it with a fork. Or if you have a sandwich cutter, you could use the sealing feature.
22
Boil the pierogi in salted water until they float, about 2-3 minutes.
23
You may then, if desired, fry in oil, butter, or a combination of the two, which is my personal favorite. Some prefer their pierogi only boiled, others very crispy fried. It is a matter of personal preference how you like your pierogi.
24
You can serve with melted butter or fat, or sour cream. Also, you can top with chopped chives or curly parsley. Smacznego!
.

About

Ruskie Pierogi are probably the best known pierogi. They are very simple to make but with a distinct taste. Whether they are Russian or not, as the name possibly implies, is unknown as there are many different stories why they have their name.

You can also freeze the pierogi. You can either boil first or freeze raw. Lay on a cookie sheet without touching until frozen, then place in plastic bags.

Note: If Farmers Cheese is unavailable, then dry Ricotta cheese may be also used but you should season it stronger to make up for the flavor difference.

http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2011/01/ruskie-pierogi-potatoe-and-cheese.html

Yield:

8.0 servings

Added:

Saturday, January 22, 2011 - 8:24pm

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