Ingredients:
Dough
- 1kg plain flour
- 2 eggs
- Warm milk (warm up milk in a pot on the stove)
Filling
- Equal parts potatoes and cottage cheese (this should make up 80% of the total filling)
- Bacon, ham or both
- Onions
- Butter
- Chicken stock
- Pepper
Method:
- Firstly make the dough. Tip the flour onto a bench, make a well in the middle and crack the eggs into the well.
- Add a splash of warm milk and start stirring with a blunt knife. Keep adding the warm milk as you stir, a little bit at a time, until a dough consistency is achieved.
- Take it a bit further and make the dough a little wet – this will make it harder to handle but easier to stretch later on.
- Knead well and then cut the dough into several manageable parts. Roll out one of the parts and keep the others wrapped in a tea towel – so they don’t dry out. When you roll out the dough, use flour on the bench and rolling pin so nothing sticks.
- Get the dough to about 4mm thickness. Then use a large beer mug (or something similar) to cut out circles.
- Next, make the filling. Boil the potatoes and cool.
- Fry the onions and bacon/ham in tonnes of butter and then cool.
- Pass the potatoes, meat and onions through a food mincer.
- Then add the cottage cheese and seasoning to taste (chicken stock and pepper). Mix together well.
- Lastly, make the pierogi. Take the dough circles and add a large teaspoon of mixture to the middle.
- Stretch the dough circle and then fold the circle in half to make a semi-circle and press the dough sides together to seal. Use a fork to seal the sides if necessary.
- Boil a large saucepan of water and place the pierogi into the boiling water and stir occasionally and gently. Once they rise to the top, remove them and let them cool on a plate.
- Then fry them in butter to finish and a slight crispy coating.
- Garnish with bacon pieces or pork scratchings. Eat with pickled gherkins for a contrasting texture.
Link: in Stephen’s head!