A Delicious And Caloric Potato And Cheese Pierogi Recipe

Potato is often called the most versatile veggie in existence, and one of the most important food sources on the planet, and believe me, these flattering titles are not undeserved.

These small energy storehouses are packed with carbs, vitamins A, B, C, and P, minerals, iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus, so it’s not really a surprise that, as soon as they were discovered in their cradle in Central and South America, they conquered the world overnight.

However, if potato lacks one important nutrient that is protein. Fortunately, besides the high value in vitamin A, vitamin B, calcium, and zinc, cheese packs protein in abundance, so it’s obvious that pairing these two together makes one very fortunate marriage.

I use cheese and potatoes to cook my way out of any situation when I need to put off eating meat or have vegetarian company.

However, I must say that I wasn’t too motivated in this aspect. My potato and cheese cooking was mostly restricted to chive-jack potatoes and filling cheese potato soups.

You can only imagine how delighted I was when my friend Anna, who is of Polish descent, sent me a recipe for pierogi, one of the classic Polish foods. Potato with cheese, as you could have imagined. Of course, I had to give the entire tale my own spin.

So, here’s one neat, cheap, and easy to make potato and cheese pierogi recipe:

Ingredients

Potato Filling

4 ounces grated Parmesan
1 pound soft farmer’s cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
3 ounces sour cream
2 pound potatoes
1 stick butter
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon chopped chive
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 3/4 tablespoon granulated garlic
Kosher salt

Dough

2 eggs (larger the better)
4 pounds flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 3/4 cups water

To Serve

4 ounces olive oil
1 onion
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Sour cream

Cooking Directions

1. Preparing the Dough

Dough is the heart of pierogi, so you’ll need to make it first. To do that, put the sifted flour, olive oil, 2 cups of water, salt and eggs into a bowl, find a mixer and put it to good use.
Start slow, and keep it that way for a couple of minutes, switch to high settings, and continue to mix until the dough starts pulling away from the bowl.
Now’s the time to slow the mixer down, add the remaining water, and continue mixing until the water is fully absorbed.
All that remains is to give the dough another 10-minute mixing round on the high setting, cut the mixture into four pieces and leave it to rest in the warm area for about 20 minutes.

2. Preparing the Filling

First, you’ll need to fill a pot with water, add 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt and boil the potatoes until they are ready for meshing.
That would take approximately 20 minutes as well, so if you are afraid that you won’t be able to multitask you can start boiling the potato while you’re still mixing the dough to give yourself more time to prepare the filling while the dough rests.
Anyhow, when the potatoes are finally boiled peel their skin, put them in the mixing bowl, and start mixing in the remaining filling ingredients. All except Parmesan. If you need some milk to make the process smoother, feel free to add it.
Once you’re done, add Parmesan into the mix.
Now, I have to admit that this addition is my invention, and to be quite honest it does turn these pierogis into a cheese bomb. But parmesan also adds a great deal of flavor and provides the filling with a nice texture when it starts melting so I like to keep it in.

3. Rolling the Dough

Quite easy and enjoyable endeavor. Just spray the board you are going to use with a nonstick spray, find a rolling pin, and roll until you reach the consistent thickness of about 1/4 inch. If you get carried away, don’t worry – you can always re-ball the dough and start over.
When you’re done, find a good 3-inch circle cutter and try to use as much dough as you can (re-balling dough scraps can prove to be of tremendous help).

If you don’t have a rolling pin, check out my suggestions on rolling pin substitutes.

4. Filling the Dough

This is probably the trickiest part of this recipe, but after a pierogi or two, you’ll acquire enough skill to do it like a pro.
Place approximately 1 teaspoon of filling in each cutout (you can always add more for the added pleasure), then gently pick up the cutout and fold it so it covers the filling.
Now pull out both sides of the fold (slightly and gently) and seal it by pinching the edge.
If you want to be 100% sure that the fold won’t open you can use the head of a fork for this delicate purpose.

5. Boiling and Serving

We are finally nearing an end. What you’ll need to do to make the final push is to find a spacious saucepan, fill it with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and boil the pierogis for about 5 minutes.
When you’re done place them on the baking sheet and let them cool a bit.
Now, pick up a saute pan, cover the bottom with oil, heat it (medium heat will do the job more than well), and finally saute the pierogis.
Though there isn’t any prescribed time for how long you should do this, you’ll know they’re done when they get that beautiful brown color.

The only thing you’ll need to do after all pierogis are ready is to put them on the plate, decorate them with onions, put the cream on the side of the plate for dipping, and enjoy this beautiful and caloric vegetarian blast. 🙂