Homemade Perogies

What follows is my base recipe for perogies from start to finish. This recipe makes a very large batch of perogies, enough to last you at least a few dinner parties. When I make perogies, I ususally make a half batch, and still put many in the freezer. It's up to you, if you live alone, a half batch is probably best, but if you have a big family to feed, I'd go ahead and make a full. If you are freezing some of the perogies, just make sure you freeze them before you boil them, and freeze them overnight on a baking sheet or stacked between sheets of wax paper before putting them into a ziplock, so that they do not stick together. 

Perogies are one of our favourite foods in Saskatchewan, I think, and a very clear indication of just how many of us have at least some Eastern European descent. I love perogies, and my grandma makes delicious perogies, both traditional potato ones, and sweet apple ones. I learned to make perogies years ago with her, and since have enjoyed making them a few times. They take a good few hours if you plan to do it all at once, but are a really fun thing to do with a gang of people. Years ago, a friend and I hosted a few perogy-making parties where we had a bunch of our friends over, and made perogies all afternoon--enough to send a bag home with everyone, and have a nice dinner at the end. If you are looking for a different Sunday dinner party to do this winter (especially in the weeks before Christmas as people prepare for the feasts), this could be a wonderful way to pass an afternoon. Having a lot of hands on hand makes the pinching stage go a lot quicker.

I am posting now just my recipe for the dough and potato filling, as I made those again this past summer, but hopefully I will eventually post Grandma's apple filling as well, as it is delicious as well. 

Note: all the photos I've included here are of the perogies after I froze them to store for later. Sorry, I totally forgot to take photos as I was making them!

Homemade Perogy Dough

INGREDIENTS:

Filling: 

Might need more filling than this for a full recipe of dough. Please adjust ratios as necessary.

• 8 large floury potatoes 
• 2-3 eggs
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1/2-3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• bunch of green onions, rinsed and finely sliced
• juice of half a lemon
• 2-3 tsp salt
• freshly grated pepper

Dough:

• 5 cups flour 
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil

To serve: 

• 2-3 sliced onions, fried in oil and butter
• Full fat sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare filling before you make the dough. 

1. For regular potato perogies, boil drain, and mash the potatoes, leaving in just enough water so that the potatoes are mashable (should be less moist than mashed potatoes). Once potatoes are mashed, mix in the rest of the filling ingredients, and season to taste with salt and pepper. You can change the fillings as you wish, and chopped crispy bacon is very good in the filling as well.

Prepare the dough. 

1. Whisk the eggs and oil until light and well combined.
2. Add water, salt, bet smooth. Beat in flour gradually and kneed well. (Dough should remain very wet and sticky. Don't add extra flour.)
3. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.

Pinch the perogies. 

1. You can do this many ways, but I will just explain the way that I have done it lately. Roll out the perogy dough to the desired thickness (2-3 mm), and cut it into appx 4 inch squares. In the middle of each square, place a walnut-sized ball of filling. Fold the dough over (into a triangle) and pinch the edges closed, making sure there are no air pockets, as air pockets could burst the perogies when you boil them. Once I have pinched the pierogies closed, I either leave them like that, or trim them into half moon shapes with scissors.

*If you are freezing some of your perogies, freeze them after this step. Do not boil the ones you are freezing, simply arrange them on a baking tray dusted with flour, and let freeze separately (so they don't stick together). Later, you can then cook them right from the freezer: just drop them, frozen, into the boiling water to cook. 

Cook the perogies. 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Lower the perogies into the water a few at a time, making sure not to overcrowd the water.
3. Boil the pierogies for about 8-12 minutes, or until the dough is cooked. Do not overcook, as this will make the dough watery. A good trick is to check one perogy once they have begun to float at the top of the water. If it is done, take them all out. Again, do not overcook.
4. Once perogies are boiled, you can fry them up in a little butter with the fried onions, or toss them in butter, or simply serve as is.
5. Serve perogies with fried onions and sour cream. Perogies go especially well with homemade sausages and cabbage rolls. 

Wow, writing that all out reminded me how much I love these. I can't wait to make them again sometime. Perhaps I will have to introduce my Indo friends to these eventually, and make some here..