Perogies are a staple food in Poland and are akin to Italy’s ravioli and Chinese dumplings, but with a vastly diverse range of fillings to choose from. Poland is a large country with many regions influenced by 5 major cultures that give the country a great mix of flavors and styles and make the perogie especially complex, even with it’s simple composition.

The most popular perogies are made with combinations of onions, potatoes and cheese, and meat varieties with cabbage and onions. Sweet varieties are also popular desserts. We are making the classic perogie dough with 3 basic fillings in this recipe to introduce you to perogie making.

Potato/onion/ cheese

Meat and cabbage with onion

Blueberry cream cheese

For the dough;

• 2 T butter
• 1 c water
• 2 eggs
• 5 c flour
• 2 t salt

In a sauce-pot heat the butter into the water until they slightly boil.

In a mixing bowl add the flour and salt and mix to combine

Pour the hot liquid into the flour and mix together with a fork taking care adding the egg once the mixture is cool enough not to scramble. Bring together and cover with a towel to keep dough moist while you prepare the fillings. The dough will be needed after resting.
Fillings

Potato cheese

• 2 russet potatoes
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 T butter
• 1/3 lb cheddar, american, or cheese of choice
• 3 pinches Peppery Karlozy spice mix
• Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the russets in a pot and caramelize the onion in the butter until golden brown. Set aside to cool

Cut the cheese into small cubes and add to a mixing bowl.

Pierce the potatoes to test doneness and once fully cooked remove the skin in cool water and then rice the potato into the mixing bowl. Add the onions and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley optional.

Set the covered filling aside until ready for perogie making. Can be made a day ahead if time as needed.

Meat and Onion

• 3-4 oz ground pork
• 3-4 oz ground beef
• 2-3 T butter
• 1 onion minced
• 1/8 of cabbage shredded and sliced into smaller strips
• 3 pinches Peppery Karlozy spice mix
• salt and pepper to taste

In a pan saute your onion with butter until golden brown to caramelize. Add the shredded cabbage and cook to wilt fully before turning off and let cool. In a mixing bowl combine the meats and the spice and salt and pepper to taste. add the onion cabbage mix and toss to combine mixture. Take a small ball of the mix and fry in the pan to taste spice and saltiness, adjust to taste. Set the covered filling aside until ready for perogie making. Can be made a day ahead if time as needed.

Blueberry Cream Cheese

• 2 pints blueberries – rinsed
• 6 T sugar
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4-6 T powered sugar
• 2 oz sour cream for filling plus additional for serving
• Salt to taste

In a sauce-pot combine 1 pint of blueberries with the sugar and simmer on medium low until fully stewed into a compote. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar and 1/3 of the cooled blueberry compote. Mix together and add 1/4 of the fresh pint of blueberries into the mix. Careful fold in the blueberries and add a bit of salt to taste and adjust as needed. Set the covered filling aside until ready for perogie making. Can be made a day ahead if time as needed.

Assembly

Remember to keep the dough covered as much as possible to maintain moisture and keep the dough plaint for folding together.

Kneed the dough until smooth and silky feeling and it should be shiny and dry enough not to stick to the board or your hands when touching. flour your counter-top and begin to roll out the dough into a large sheet about 1/6th of an inch thick remembering that once you fold the dough the edges will double in thickness.

Using a 20 oz beer glass, (or a fancy dumpling ring), punch out as many rounds of dough as you can manage and cover with a tea-towel. take up all the scrap and knead into a new ball covering until all the scraps are combined at the end.

Take 1 round of the dough and add about 2 T of filling to the middle and squeeze the edges together into a pocket holding the filling, making sure to squeeze out all air from the inside and tucking the filling into the center of the dumpling. Once the edges are pinched go back and reshape the edges with your thumb and forefinger pinching routinely into a half moon shape with pie-cutter edges for appealing presentation.

*note that many shapes are traditionally made to identify each type of filling and emphasis the perogie maker style. This is done over time so if they don’t look perfect at first, keep folding and you will improve appearances as you make the perogies.