Time for Polish food! I wanted to make them when I was still in Japan, but I decided it’s better to wait for Babcia to make it. She makes the best pierogi in the world (sorry, mum)!
There are many kinds of pierogi in Poland, ranging from savoury to sweet and fruity. And everyone seems to have their favourite. The version below is called ‘Russian pierogi’ (pierogi ruskie) in Polish, and they are one of the most popular ones here.
Potato and Cottage Cheese Dumplings (Pierogi Ruskie)
INGREDIENTS
for the filling
boiled and mashed potatoes
sausage (optional)
onion
cottage (farmer’s) cheese / quark
salt, pepper
oil to fry
for the pierogi dough
1 egg
flour
little bit salt
hot water
about 100ml milk
HOW TO MAKE?
1. Chop the onion and sausage. Fry it with a bit of oil.
2. Prepare a meat grinder. We need to mince all the ingredients for the filling. Starting with cottage cheese, fried onion&sausage and, finally, potatoes. Add salt and pepper to the resulting mass.
3. Now, mix it all together. Best way? With your hand.
4. Time to make the pierogi dough. It appears difficult, I know. But the truth is, it’s not as hard as it seems.
5. Prepare a pastry board (or other flat surface). Add flour and salt.
6. Make a well in the centre of your flour and add the egg. You can add a bit of oil if you wish, for a richer dough.
7. Beat the egg with your fork and gather everything together with your hands. Start pouring some hot water on the flour and mix small parts at a time into the flour mixture. Mixing should be done by hands, but be careful not to burn yourself.
8. Knead the dough until smooth and sof. Form into a ball.
9. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each of them, using flour to prevent sticking to the pastry board. Roll to a thickness of approximately 2mm.
10. When rolled, cut out circles using a glass or a cookie cutter.
11. The circles don’t have to be extra perfect. Remember to use flour, otherwise the circles will stick to the pastry board.
12. And now, the hardest part: adding the filling. Place the filling (about one teaspoon) in the center of each circle, don’t try to overfill.
13. Bring opposite sides of the circle together with your fingers. Stick it tightly, otherwise pierogi will open up while boiling.
14. Place the pierogi on a flat surface, sprinkled with flour.
15. Heat water in a pot. When boiling, add some salt and a drop of oil and start adding pierogi, stirring with a wooden spoon after each few. When pierogi start floating to the surface, let them boil for 2 more minutes.
16. Fish them out with a slotted spoon into a bowl filled with cold water, then strain.
17. Prepare the topping. Cut the sausage and onion, and fry with oil or butter until done. Serve pierogi with the topping, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and chopped dill or parsley, if you want.
Smacznego,
aho
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aho's homemade food 
i love this one!!!!!!! lol
This is lovely. I love dumpling, will try your recipe for that. Thanks for sharing.
it’s not as difficult as it looks ;) 頑張って！
Thank you for the encouragement. :-)
Najsmaczniejsze te od mamusi
sorry mamo, od babci! ;p
You need to try pierogi fried after they’ve been boiled or steam them like Chinese dumplings so you get a crispy section of dough! I perform this sacrilidge every Christmas when my gran makes pierogi :)
i tried many times but i prefer usual version ^^ tensai likes fried pierogi ;)
Cudowne ręce- mojej mamy
Every time I look on your blog I get so hungry :P It all looks so delicious! By the way how many languages can you speak? I’ve been reading your blog and you speak quite a few! Great job! Another thing… what country are you in now?
i don’t know if i should be happy about making you hungry every time you read my blog ;p anyway, thx for reading ;p
I can speak Polish (native), English, Japanese, and i can read&write Russian and Korean, not really speak ;p
and im in poland now, not for long www
Hahahh it is a good thing you can make me hungry through your post! It means you’re very good :P
Wow you’re really talented! Did you grow up in Poland? What are you doing there?
Your friend,
Lucas
Lovely pics, very informative. So if you place them in cold water before they’re served does that mean that they’re eaten cold?
no, no. you place them in water only for 20 seconds or so, thanks to that they won’t stick together when you place them in the bowl later ;) they should be served warm, definitely! ^^
Good, I’m sure they’re much nicer warm!
yes I had pierogi for the first time at Christmas, a Polish friend made some and they blew me away. Absolutely delicious. But is it possible to make them without the meat grinder, as I am lacking that piece of kit at the moment? Can I just chop über finely?
you can chop the ingredients, of course. the filling won’t be perfectly smooth but you can do it ;) that’s how i was doing it in Japan.
Dear Lucas, yes I was born in Poland. I’ve been living here ever since ^^ I went to Japan for one year, now I’m planning to go to Korea. It’s already decided, actually. I just have to graduate from my university first. ^^
So much great food on your site! I love pierogis!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I love pierogies but have never tried making them myself!
Thank you for the recipe!
Grannies are the best. They have superpowers.
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