Perogies

Perogies are pockets of dough, filled with a variety of ingredients.Traditional perogies are stuffed with: potato, cheese, meat, sauerkraut and fruit fillings. Each country and culture prepares perogies according to thier tradition and refers to them with different names. North Americans asssociated perogies with Poland.

Dishes which are similar to perogies are as folows: Ravioli–filled pasta in Italian cuisine Kreplach–dumplings in Kosher cuisine Jiaozi–dumplingss in Chinese cuisine Mandu–Korean dumplings Manti–Turkish dumplings Khinkaii–Georgian dumplings Pelmeni–Russian dumplings Varenykies–Ukranian dumplings

Perogies can be prepared boiled or pan-fried.They can be served as an entree, appetizer, snack or desert.

A wonderfull desert is warm apple perogies. Anna Olson discusses how to prepare this dish at: http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?language=EN&recipeType=1&action=recipe&recipeID=3401

Ingredients:

2½ cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour 1 tsp (5 mL) fine salt 2 large eggs ½ cup (125 mL) 2% milk 7 tbsp (105 mL) water

Apple Filling 2 cups (500 mL) loosely packed grated McIntosh apple 1 cup (250 mL) graham cracker crumbs 3 tbsp (45 mL) sugar 1 tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter, melted ½ tsp (2 mL) finely grated lemon zest ¼ tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg

Sour Cream Garnish ¾ cup (175 mL) sour cream 2 tbsp (25 mL) light brown sugar, packed ¼ tsp (1 mL) pure vanilla extract

Warm Brown Sugar Sauce ¼ cup (50 mL) unsalted butter ½ cup (125 mL) light brown sugar, packed ½ tsp (2 mL) pure vanilla extract ½ tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon 2 cups (500 mL) peeled and sliced McIntosh apples 1/3 cup (75 mL) raisins

Directions

1. To make perogy dough, combine flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk eggs, milk and water and add to flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until blended, then, with a floured hand, knead the dough about 6 times to create a ball (dough will be soft and a bit lumpy). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

2. To make filling, stir all ingredients together.

3. To make perogies, cut dough in half, wrapping reserved half in plastic wrap. On a floured surface, roll out dough as thinly as possible without tearing (dough is quite stretchy, so will not tear easily). Cut out circles with a 3-inch (8-cm) cookie cutter. Place 1 tbsp (15 mL) apple filling in centre of each perogy. To fold, stretch dough over filling and pinch edges with well-floured fingers (no water is needed to seal the perogies), and place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Extra scraps can be shaped into a ball, wrapped and re-rolled after 30 minutes.

4. To cook perogies, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add about 15 perogies to the pot and stir once. Boil, uncovered, until perogies float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment-lined baking tray. At this point, perogies can be chilled or frozen until ready to serve.

5. To make sour cream garnish, stir all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

6. To make warm brown sugar sauce, melt butter, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until bubbling. Stir in apple slices and perogies. Stir gently until sauce bubbles again and perogies are warm. Stir in raisins.

7. To serve, spoon a few perogies onto a plate and dollop with a spoonful of sour cream garnish.

Makes about 40 perogies. Serves 8-10