My great grandfather Dimitri made a huge wooden board (stolnica) for his daughter, my grandmother Józefa, just for making pierogi. It was a very generous size, covering half the kitchen table, and had beautifully carved raised edges so you could roll out pastry dough without spilling flour onto the floor. When Józefa put it on the table and started to sprinkle it with flour, I knew she would be making my favourite meal – pierogi.
This recipe makes about 120 pierogi, which sounds a lot, but if you have a big family or more than a couple of hungry friends they will all soon disappear. Any leftovers are delicious re-fried in a little butter the next day.
To make the pastry for 120 pierogi
1kg (1lb 3oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
125g (4½ oz) unsalted butter
500ml (17 fl oz) warm water
Soften the butter in the microwave or by leaving it out of the fridge for a while.
Pile the flour onto a large wooden board, then slowly work in the butter with your fingers.
Mix in the warm water, little by little, to make an elastic, soft dough.
Place it in a bowl and cover with a clean tea or dish towel so it doesn't dry out while you are preparing the filling.
Roll out a lump of pastry dough on the wooden board – not too thick or thin – 3 mm (1/8 in) is good.
Using an inverted tumbler, cut out circles about 8 cm (3 ½ in) in diameter and lay them on a floured wooden board, again covering with a tea or dish towel until you are ready to fill them.
For pierogi with beef filling
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 kg (4lb 7oz) beef ribs
½ bunch curly leaf parsley, chopped
500ml (1 pint) water
2 stale bread rolls
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 160C (325F).
Fry half the onion, the parsley and carrots in a heavy bottomed oven proof saucepan. Add the water and beef ribs, then put the lid on the pan and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
Allow the pan to cool a little before removing the bones and discarding them, taking care to keep all the meat. Soften the bread rolls in some water, squeeze them dry, then stir into the mixture so they soak up the thick gravy. Put the mix through a mincer.
Fry the remaining onion in a pan with the butter until it is translucent. Stir in the minced beef mixture and fry for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Take the prepared circles of pastry dough and place a teaspoon of filling on each. Fold them in half and carefully close them, crimping the pastry together with your fingers so you end up with little semi-circles.
Put the pierogi into a big pot of boiling water with half a teaspoon of salt. The moment they float to the top (which will not take more than a minute) take them out carefully with a slotted spoon to allow them to drain.
If desired, fry for a couple of minutes in a little butter till they are brown and crisp.
Sweet pierogi with sour cherries (pierogi z wiśniami)
Pierogi can be made as a sweet "dessert" dish, with fresh summer fruits for the filling: strawberries, raspberries, cherries and blueberries. This recipe is for sour cherries, you can use normal cherries (and a bit less sugar) if you prefer.
To make the pastry for 60 pierogi:
500g (1lb 2oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
60g (2oz) unsalted butter
250ml (½ pint) warm water
Soften the butter in the microwave or by leaving it out of the fridge for a while. Pile the flour onto a large wooden board, then slowly work in the butter with your hands. Add the warm water, little by little, to make a soft, elastic dough. Place it in a bowl and cover with a clean tea or dish towel so it doesn't dry out while you are preparing the filling.
Roll out the pastry on the wooden board – about 3mm (1/8 in) is good. Cut out circles roughly 8cm (3 in) in diameter using an inverted tumbler and lay them on a floured wooden board.
To make the cherry filling:
500g (1lb 2oz) ripe sour cherries
100g (4oz) caster (superfine) sugar (50g if using sweet cherries)
whipped cream to serve
Wash and stone the cherries before chopping and mashing them together with a little sugar. Depending on how ripe your cherries are, you will probably need all 100g (4oz) of sugar, but if they are well-ripened and quite sweet less will suffice.
Place a teaspoon of the sour-cherry filling on each circle of pastry, fold it in half and carefully close it, crimping the pastry together at the edges with your fingers.
Throw the pierogi into a big pot of boiling water. Cook for a couple of minutes then take them out and allow to drain.
Serve with whipped cream and caster (superfine) sugar.
