A pierogi Recipe from Warsaw
After we had finished our food discovery in Warsaw, we were really eager to find a local person that can teach us how to cook an authentic Polish dish. We had chosen Pierogi as our object of desire, since we couldn’t get enough of these incredible Dumplings. Luckily our AirBnB Host Ludwik was ready to show us a Real Deal Recipe of Pierogis. Ludwik and his Mum were unbelievably hospitable and we can only recommend you to book a stay with them, if you ever visit Warsaw. Here is their AirBnB Profile if you want to contact them. We got really hungry after a long walk at Warsaw’s Old town and couldn’t wait to start cooking.
Consider the long preparation time
It takes a looong time to prepare Pierogis and it is not a good idea to start the Session with an empty stomach. So grab some snacks that keep your tummy relaxed and get started. All together it can take up to 3 hours before you can finally enjoy your first bite of Pierogi. By the way, Ludwik’s cat George was waiting too.
Getting started
Before we get started we introduce you to the chef! This is Ludwik, a very talented Saxophone player from Warsaw and a great lad! Ludwik follows his passion of playing the Saxophone which drove him all the way to Paris to study it. On this day he was in the kitchen doing some top notch Pierogi for us! Thanks a lot Ludwik! We never forget!
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Wheat flour
- 0,75 Cup of warm water
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp Sourcream
- Dash of oliveoil
- Salt
The Recipe for the dough
Step one: Firstly strain your flour through a sieve into a bowl. This will have a positive effect on the smoothness of the dough later.
Step two: Then add salt to the bowl and add sourcream, eggyolks and pour in the hot water slowly. Stir everything with a fork.
Step three: Cover the bowl with a cling foil and set aside for 15 minutes.
Step four: After 15 minutes add the oil and stir again. Once again cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
Step five: When the dough has been sitting for another 15 minutes, get a wooden board ready and start knitting it. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit of flour and knit until soft and smooth, approximately for 10 minutes.
Step six : Sprinkle flour on your board and start rolling out the dough 2mm thin.
Step seven: Next use a cup and cut out circles out. These will be filled with the Pierogi-Filling later.
The Filling for the Pierogi
Ingredients
- 400 g minced beef
- Cottage cheese (optional)
- 1 Onion diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves,chopped
- Salt
- Sugar
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 grated carrot
- Fresh Parsley
- Knob of Butter
- ½ glass of red wine (optional)
Step one: Heat up some butter and a dash of olive oil to a frying pan and add the diced onion, followed by a pinch of salt and sugar. This helps caramelizing the onions better. Don’t go over medium heat.
Step two: Add the grated carrot and sweat together with the onions for 4 minutes. Next add the garlic and stir 2 minutes. Optional add a glass of dry red wine now and cook out the alcohol for 2-3 minutes.
Step three: Now put the beef into the pan and separate it with a wooden spoon. There shouldn’t be any big pieces of beef left in the pan. Don’t cook the beef for too long, only until it isn’t raw anymore. Season with the fresh ground pepper. Mix in the parsley and stir once more. Taste it! Maybe it lacks salt?
Step four: When you are satisfied with the seasoning, switch off the heat and place the filling into a bowl. This is your Filling for the Pierogis. We did stir through some cottage cheese as well, but this is really optional.
How to form your Pierogis
Get your first dough circle , wet the edges with a bit of water. That will make the dough stick when you form the Pierogi. In the center place a teaspoon of the filling and carefully bring the edges of the dough together. Fold your Pierogi in half and then start pinching the edges together to seal them.
They will have the shape of a half moon. They are finally ready to be cooked.
Cooking the Pierogis
Heat up a pot with water and bring to the boil. Throw in your yummy Dumplings in and let them cook for 10-12 minutes. Take them out and serve with Sourcream and add some crispy fried bacon and onion on top of the Pierogi!! Sprinkle with fresh parsley! Done!!
Tips:
If you don’t worry about health so much,then fry your Pierogis in a bit of Oil. It’s incredibly delicious! They should be golden brown and cripsy and served in the same way as mentioned above.The bacon really makes it. Don’t forget the sourcream. Pierogis and Sourcream are best friends. Just like Piano and Saxophone 🙂
You Lovely people
We hope you enjoyed the story and maybe you will cook it!Let us know how you liked it. Share your Pierogi Recipes with you in the Comments! We would love to hear from you!
Your Foodvagabonds from Warsaw
These look so very delicious! Wonderful photos too. 🙂
Thanks soo much ! I am happy you wrote me. I have just posted a new Recipe from Lithuania 😀 Best wishes from the Transiberian Railway