This recipe is a special one for me and I'm glad that this particular food is my first post. While I was in the depths of my ED, my parents would ask me, "Don't you miss pierogies? They're your favorite!" I would assure my parents that I missed them but I couldn't just simply eat pierogies at that time. A common misconception is that a way to treat anorexia is by simply eating. But it's not that simple-it never is.Even though I didn't allow myself to eat my favorite food, I promised my parents that the next time I ate pierogies, I would make them by hand.
Making pierogies is a tradition in my family that we reserve for Christmas and Easter. Fresh out of treatment, I told my family that we were having pierogies for Christmas Eve dinner. For so long I had let my ED control what I did and didn't (mostly didn't) eat. But I came to a point where I was sick of that control. I realized that I would not let my ED get in the way with family, traditions, and the holidays. So in the afternoon of the 24th, I stepped into the kitchen, leaving my ED in the other room.
Pierogies aren't all that difficult to make. If you can make a simple pasta dough and mashed potatoes- you can make pierogies. This dish is a staple of Eastern Europe and can be filled with potatoes, cheese, cabbage, fruits- really whatever you're in the mood for. In this recipe, I'll do a basic potato+ sour cream filling. For Christmas, we also stuff others with soft cheese (like Bryndza or Feta) or a Fruit butter like Lekvar (Prune butter)
Ingredients for Dough:
All Purpose Flower---1 CUP
Egg---1 (Large)
Water---3 Tbsp
Salt---1 Tsp
Ground Pepper---Pinch
Ingredients for Filling:
Potato (Variety doesn't matter)--- 2
Sour Cream---1/2 CUP
Garlic---1 Clove (Minced)
Onion---1/4 CUP (Minced)
STEP BY STEP:
- 1. Preheat the Over for 375F- we're gonna roast that garlic and onion
- 2. Clean and Peel garlic and onion--mince into small bits. Put bits in an oven safe bowl and roast in oven for 10 minutes
- 3. Fill a Medium-sized pot with water. Bring to a boil
- 4. Peel and cube potatoes
- 5. Place cubed potatoes into boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. (I usually cover my pot) Should take potatoes about 20 minutes to become fork tender
- 6. In a small bowl or even a coffee mug, break egg and whisk until smooth and a pale yellow
- 7. In a separate bowl mix flower, salt and pepper together
- 8. Pour egg into bowl of dry ingredients and knead by hand.
- 9. Add water which will bind any extra flower that hasn't stuck to the dough-ball. Let dough stand for 5 minutes.
- 10. By now the potatoes should be tender enough to mash. Using a slotted spoon, strain the cubed potato chunks and place them in a mixing bowl
- 11. With a potato masher (or soup can, or beer bottle) mash the potatoes until smooth
- 12. Add sour cream, garlic, and onion to the potato mixture and stir until even
- 13. Back to the dough! Flower a work surface and roll out dough using a rolling pin. Dough should be rolled about 1/2 of a centimeter.
- 14. Using a cup (I use about 3" diameter) cut out circles in the dough. This recipe usually yields around 20 circles.
- 15. Stretch out dough circles by softly pinching the middle and pull on the ends. Should look more like an oval now.
- 16. With a tablespoon, scoop out about half a spoon of the potato mix and place in the middle of circle.
- 17. Fill a cup with water, dip your finger and wet the around the sides of the dough.
- 18. Fold over the ends of the dough and pinch together to form a nice seal. (My Poppop uses a fork to press down the pierogi's edges
- 19. Re-boil the pot of water that the potatoes were in (I like to recycle) and drop the pierogies in. (My secret is balancing the pierogies on the top of my arm and dropping them in the water back to back to back)
- 20. Pierogies will float back to the top after a few minutes have passed. Using a slotted spoon, strain the cooked pierogies and start the next batch for boiling.
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