Polish Pierogi - Recipes and How to Make It

Polish Pierogi makes me smile seriously. It is the ethnic comfort food that is slightly stuffed. And, it is or are the stuffings that make pierogi, you know? Ah, a very favorite comfort food of mine is Polish Pierogi.

I sure do love Polish Pierogi for all of the tasty and delicious stuffings. Polish Pierogi is a half circular dumpling of unleavened dough that is lovingly stuffed with mashed potato, cabbage, dry cottage cheese, assorted meats and fruits!

Growing up in Northeastern Ohio, specifically Cleveland, I can tell you that we ate lots and lots of Polish Pierogi! The varieties of pierogi that I remember having most often included stuffings of mashed potato, kraut, dry cottage cheese [my favorite], and PRUNE!

OMG, I did not like that prune fruit as I seem to remember always getting a pit in my Polish Pierogi oh my! Hey, I'm a whole lot of Hungarian with a little bit Polish, but hold off on the prune pits in my Polish Pierogi please.

My ex-hubby had this authentic and delicious Polish Pierogi at a St. Augustine, Florida restaurant, Gaufre's & Goods. Afterwards, he was "slightly stuffed."

Photo Credit: Delicious Polish Pierogi photographed by JaguarJulie in St. Augustine, FL.

Quick, Vote for this Stuffed Food!
Do you love love love it like I do? Have you ever had a Polish Pierogi?

1. Yumm Yumm, absolutely!
2. Just finding out about it.
3. Nope!

I Am a Little Polish and Slightly Stuffed!

Why do I love this ethnic comfort food? Did you know that the pierogi has an unknown origin, but it does have strong links to the Slavic culture. I grew up associating the pierogi with the Eastern European country of Poland.

Well, nowadays if I don't have time to make my Stuffed Cabbage Rolls like grandma Julia Nagy taught me, I opt for some Polish Pierogi. I love to serve it with butter and lots and lots of fried onions. Check out the best-ever recipes for this ethnic comfort food. OMG, my tastebuds are absolutely drooling. Yumm Yumm!

They're half circular dumplings of unleavened dough stuffed with cheese, mashed potato, cabbage, dry cottage cheese, assorted meats and fruits! I sure do LOVE them you all.

You see, I didn't celebrate the little bit of Polish in my heritage when I was younger and living near Parma, Ohio. It wasn't cool all those years ago. We'd hear, your grandma wears army boots or you were white socks and your pants are looking for a flood. Those kind of endearing words of wisdom.

Today, I am happy to report I've got that Polish in me and I love Stuffed Cabbage too. -- The Brand Ambassador, JaguarJulie

P.S. I WAS the Official Squidoo Comfort Foods Contributor! Did you know that? Well, you probably guessed it. Thinking back all those years to Cleveland, Ohio, it was so comforting on those days that we kids got Polish Pierogi. You see, it became one of our really ethnic comfort foods even though POLISH was in he name!

What about this slightly stuffed food?

These Slavic and non-Slavic peoples have Pierogi as a part of their culture: Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Russians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Slovaks.

Well, that explains why it was featured in our house at so many meals -- I'm of Eastern European descent.
Something else that is curious about the pierogi is that there is a definite similarity to Italian ravioli. In East Asia, similar food is served, such as Chinese jiaozi, Japanese gyoza, and Korean mandoo.

Polish Pierogi Recipe

Ingredients

Dough
3 cups of flour
2 spoons of oil
1/2 cups of warm water
salt

Filling
3-4 boiled potatoes
10 ounces white cheese
2 onions
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Make the filling.
2. Fry onions in butter until golden brown.
3. Mash potatoes.
4. Mix together the potatoes, cheese, onions, salt and pepper.
5. Make the dough.
6. Mix all ingredients together.
7. Knead until the dough is rather sticky.
8. Take a portion of the dough and roll it out.
9. Use a glass to cut out circles.
10. Add a small spoon of filling to each circle.
11. Fold over and press the edges of the pierogi to seal it.
12. In a boiling pot of water, add the pierogi.
13. Cook until the pierogi dumplings float to the surface.

Get a Pierogi Maker!

You might want to try the Fox Run Fox Run Aluminum Pierogi Maker. It is a great helper for those learning to make their first pierogies.

It is quite easy to use and clean. You simply press dough into the form. Next, you fill the pocket with your chosen ingredients. Finally, press and seal with another sheet of dough.

You can also use it for other dough recipes, including pot stickers and filled pastries ... perhaps Hungarian?

A Tailgater's Recipe for Polish Pierogi
The Polish Pierogi goes mainstream!

Select the pierogi of your choice. You'll find them in the frozen food aisle. Follow the package directions for cooking which will tell you how long to boil in salted water.

Cut up one large onion and fry in a frying pan with butter until golden. Also fry one package of bacon until done -- do not overcook.

In a disposable aluminum rectangular tin, arrange the dozen or so pierogi. Add one stick of butter cut into pieces. Spread the cooked onion on top along with the cooked bacon. Cover with aluminum foil.
Ah, we like our Polish Pierogi seriously stuffed!

When tailgating, you can put this on a low to medium grill and heat up until the pierogi, onion, and bacon are warm. Serve with a dollup of sour cream. --Recipe is courtesy of Todd Sander, a local tailgating chef in Jacksonville, FL.

Do you love Polish Pierogi?
... or not? Be sure to weigh in on this tasty topic! Love 'em or hate 'em? Are you a fan of the Polish Pierogi? Do you have your own Pierogi? Got a great comfort food recipe. Please share your comments, raves, rants, recipes!

History: Polish Pierogi : Ethnic Comfort Food was originally created on Squidoo by JaguarJulie on December 21, 2007. On July 15, 2011 this lens earned the Squidoo Purple Star Award for quality content.