Daring Cooks': Pierogies

"The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale."

This was my first daring cooks' challenge and it was a challenge I really enjoyed! I made two types of pierogies: potato and mushroom and potato with sauerkraut, bacon, and cheese.
Though it was a lot of work, I would definitely make pierogies again. Not only did we enjoy our pierogies on the night that we made them, but we also froze a bunch of extra ones and have been enjoying them for quick dinners as well.

Next time I would mix the potato mixture more to make it more to make it more smooth. And I would also season the mixture more.

Out of the two, I preferred the Potato, sauerkraut, bacon and cheese one the best. It just seemed to have more flavours and a better balance of flavours; salty, sour, and creamy.
I sauted the pierogies with onions and bacon and served the them with sour cream. Delish!

Here is the recipes I used:
 
Dough


Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
About 1 cup lukewarm water (I used about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
2. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time.
3. Mix the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary.
4. Cover the dough with a towel. Let it rest 20 minutes.

Here is what I used for the fillings:

Potato, sauerkraut, bacon and cheese

Ingredients: 

3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed  
1 cup  cottage cheese, drained    
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear
6 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy
1/4 cup sauerkraut, rinsed
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tbsp butter, melted    
1/4  tsp salt    

Potato and Mushroom 

Ingredients:
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed
1 package of crimini mushrooms (225g), chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt



Directions:


1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling into a bowl and mix.
2. Cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.

Assembly:

1. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly and cut with a round or glass. (I used my pasta machine to get the dough super thin! And the rolling went much quicker with a pasta machine!)
2. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling into the middle of each circle.
3. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together and use a fork to crimp the edges.
4. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cooking:
1. Cook the fresh or frozen pierogies by adding them to boiling salted water and waiting until until they float and cook them for 5 minutes more after they started floating.
2. Then remove them with a slotted spoon and fry them in butter, onions and bacon.


I froze the extra pierogies without boiling them. They are cooked the same way as the fresh pierogies :) I will definitely be making more pierogies in the future!