Pierogi

[mcdoncj]

Has anyone made pierogi's?? I have a recipe but need some help figuring out the flour. If you have a reicpe I would love to have it. Thanks--cm

[kejohe]

Okay... I'll admit, I am a professional chef, but I don't have any idea what that is, Pierogi. Does it go by another name? What culture is it from and what ingredients are used? If you have a recipe, even if it's not converted to gluten-free yet, I might be able to help you figure it out. And even if not, I'd still like to know more about it, I love learning about new foods.

[GFdoc]

Kathleen- pierogies are the Polish version of a potsticker, ravioli, etc. It's a pasta like dough pocket,usually crescent shaped, and often filled with potatoes and cheese...(I'm not Polish, but I live in Chicago - lots of Polish people here)

[debmidge]

Kathleen: If one of us gave you a receipe for pierogy could you look at it and see if you can adjust it with gluten-free flours? The problem is the dough; the filing is gluten-free as it's either potato, cheese, sauerkraut (F?).

Thanks,

Debbie

[kejohe]

I'm sure I could try. I have been working on a gluten-free skin for wontons anyway, and I'm sure they would work for these as well. The Chinese use a skin/wrap made with tapioca flour that is used for steamed sui mai, a meat filled dumpling, but most recipes usually still include a small amount of wheat flour. I just recently got a tortilla press that I was going to use for this purpose, so I'll give it a try over the net few days if I can and let you know what I come up with.

Don't expect results really soon though, I have had a rather rough week. My step father passed away this week and his funeral is today. We were not especially close, but the family is large and some of them are having a rough time of it.

I will try to get it done soon though because I want to put it in my book, and my husband (being Chinese) is getting tired of having to tell my son he can't have any wontons when he makes them, or having to sneak them it when my son is busy. My goal is to come up with something that can be boiled like pasta, steamed or fried like dumplings.

Wish me Luck!

[debmidge]

Kathleen: In a few days or so I'll post the perogy receipe which i got from a Polish lady 25 years ago. I have to find it first....it takes hours to make.

[Beantree]

My husbands family is polish.

We make (or used to) peirogis ALL of the time. His grandmother still does hundreds of them for an annual Polish Legion Peirogi sale. They are SOOO good fried up in butter with some onions on top.

Filling:

Just make your cheese potatoes, we are dairy free so we make our own type of filling. Stewed prunes are also good and I have heard of kraut filled peirogis.

Dough;

This is the tough part.

They just mound up flour (all purp)

add a few eggs (like two for a HUGE amount of flour)

a little water (or milk)

salt to taste

They need the dough adding water as needed till it is in a spongy ball that is not sticky.

Roll it out thin, take glass and cut circles. Fill half with potatoes, crimp sides.

Now, drop in boiling water until they float on top of water. take out of water and drain. Fry or freeze them!

VERY good!

[kejohe]

I'll give this recipe a try switching it to gluten-free. I don't see why it wouldn't work the same with a llitte xanthan gum. The hardest part will be guessing which flour or combonation of flours will work/taste the best.

[shels]

Hi. I found this recipe for pierogies but haven't tried it yet.

For dough-mix with a wire whisk

1cup rice flour

2/3 cup tapioca starch

1/4t. salt

1/2t. baking powder

1t. xanthan gum

Mix in large bowl with a mixer

1/2 cup water

1 egg

2t. oil or sauteed butter

Add dry ingredients to beaten and blend to a soft dough

Boil 6-8 potatoes - mash

Shred sharp cheese - stir into potatoes- add salt and pepper to taste

Put a small ball of potatoe mixture in disk of dough, water around the edges to seal. Boil in water till they float (about 7 minutes). SS

[Beantree]

IF you can eat dairy...we cannot...

I highly reccomend adding some cream cheese to the potatoes. It makes them so unbelievably creamy and good.

Chopped chives is good too!

[Guest Florida Jean]

Hi, Before my diagnosis I made these pierogies frequently and the recipe

given was close to what I used. I did add a bit of baking powder to the dough.

Instead of boiling them, I deep fried them in oil.

When browned, with a slotted spoon, I transferred them to a roasting pan with lid. When all of the pierogies

were fried, I covered them with onions that were fried in butter. I just dumped

it all over the pierogies; covered the pan and shook.

Eating them with sour cream was delicious. My daughter uses catsup [for you catsup lovers.] It does take a long time, but when you grow up loving these dishes, it's worth the time and effort.

I have not tried them in years, now, but I do make what I call LAZY LADY PIEROGIES, and it is similar and easier and satisfies my yearning.

Use gluten-free lasagna noodles. Cook till tender.

While cooking these, fry onions in butter and smear some on casserole dish.

Cook potatoes and mash along with good amount of Velveeta cheese [so it

looks a nice light yellow.

[To cut down on time and labor, you can use instant potatoes]

Put down one layer of noodles and cover with the potato cheese mixture and more

noodles on top. Cover with the butter and onions [and be generous with the potatoes and also the onions and butter.]

Repeat this last step.

Cover and bake about 30 min in 325 oven.

Cut into squares and eat with sour cream.

I know this is a heavy starch dish with loads of fats and other no-no's, but

it is good.

Grandkids always want me to make them pierogies and are almost satisfied with this dish.

If this doesn't make sense and you need more help, please write me.

Forget the calories; carbs; fats! Enjoy a good Polish meal [and I'm not even Polish!]

Jean

[Carol Farmholtz]

I love pierogies too and used to make them all the time before going gluten-free. I have not attempted to make them gluten-free however I used to make a pierogi casserole that had the same flavor as pierogies and was much easier to make than pierogies. It was made like lasagna - alternating layers of lasagna noodles with mashed potatoes mixed with cheddar cheese. I have not tried it yet but I am sure it would work out fine with gluten-free lasagna noodles and you could just use your favorite pierogi filling.

[janet]

I have made pirogies using Bette Hagman's recipe for fresh egg pasta dough and been very pleased with the results. It's a lot of work but pirogies always are. Her dough recipe is:

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 tbsp potato starch flour

3/4 tsp salt

4 1/2 tsp xantham gum

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine flours, salt, and xantham gum.

Beat the eggs lightly and add oil. Pour the egg-oil liquid into the flour mixture and stir. Work the dough into a firm ball. Knead 1 or 2 minutes.

I usually make this dough ahead, refrigerate it then return to room temperature and run it through an atlas pasta machine. The dough may seem a little tough but the finished product tastes really good.

For the filling I add a head of roasted garlic, some caramalized onions and wine sauerkraut to my mashed potatoes. I don't know the quantities, just what tastes good to me.

I hope this helps

[sunflower]

Hi everybody,

I am Polish, and I agree that pierogi are good!

Unfortunately, I won't help you much with the dough, because I am celiac since I was born, so I have no experience making the "normal" pierogi. I have never made the gluten-free ones, either, until yesterday night. I think I'm not a bad cook, but I watched my mother try different ways of making gluten-free pierogi dough, to keep them from from breaking/ falling apart when cooked, and I decided that I don't have enough patience for this... So I switched to the easier and faster (but not so good looking) version using pasta with pierogi filling. However, recently I found tips for making gluten-free pierogis on a Polish celiac message board. The ladies there recommended using a gluten-free pasta flour mix that is produced by one of our makers. As far as I remember, it contained rice flour, gluten-free wheat starch and guar gum, and you were supposed to add eggs, a bit of oil and water. So, I think it should be more or less the same as Janet's recipe. Some people on the board also recommended adding a bit of instant baby rice gruel, to make the dough more sticky. I tried it yesterday, and the result was not bad, especially the last part that I boiled (I guess it is a matter of working out through practice how thin you can make the dough before it starts breaking while cooked )

As for the filling, there is a lot more options! I can't have dairy either, but there are non-dairy options that are also good.

The potato and cheese filled pierogis mentioned above are called "Russian pierogis" in Poland . Don't ask me why.

You can also have:

Pierogis with cottage cheese (mix 0,4 kilo of cottage cheese with 1-2 egg yolks, add salt to taste)

Pierogis with sauerkraut (0,8 kilo of sauerkraut, 0,05 kilo of onion, salt, pepper. Boil the sauerkraut in small amount of water for about 30 minutes, drain the remaining water, cut the onion small and fry it until it turns light brown. Then, cut the boiled sauerkraut, or blend it in a blender with the onion, add pepper and salt to taste).

Pierogis with sauerkraut and mushrooms (same as the above, only you add 0,01-0,02 kilo of dried mushrooms, which have been soaked in water for a few hours, then cooked till they are soft, and cut into small pieces) YUMMY - it's one of traditional Polish Christmas dishes.

Pierogis with fresh cabbage and mushrooms (I have never eaten them, but my cookbook says this option is possible (ingredients same as the above, only you take 1 kilo of cabbage instead of 0,8 kilo of sauerkraut, you wash the cabbage, cut it into a few smaller bits, cook in salted water, drain and then blend, add the fried onion and mushrooms, salt, pepper and mix)

Pierogis with fruit (blueberries are my favourite, but again my cookbook says that you can also use cherries or blackberries). You just wash the fruit (in case of cherries, remove the stones), fill pierogis with the fruit and after cooking, serve with sugar and/ or cream. YUMMY!

As to sauerkraut, it would be best if you came by some Polish sauerkraut (I have tried to use German sauerkraut for a traditional Polish dish once when I was abroad, and the German one was much different in taste - it had lots of vinegar, so it was too sour and I couldn't use it. As far as I know, Polish sauerkraut is made without vinegar.).

By dried mushrooms I also mean Polish dried mushrooms, which are made from wild mushrooms and taste much different from the fresh ones that are sold in supermarkets. I guess you could use the fresh ones instead, but the taste will be different.

I hope it helps and enjoy your pierogi!

Anna

[sunflower]

I forgot one version - pierogis with meat.

I don't have the recipe, but I suppose to make this filling you should mix minced meat with a bit of fried onion and spices.

BTW, the name "pierogis" that I am using here is actually incorrect. It should be "pierogi", as it is already a plural form ("1 pierog" but "2 pierogi, 3 pierogi", etc). Just in case anybody wanted to know

Anna