Chef Johns Potato And Cheese Pierogi Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain.
• Combine flour, eggs and salt. Mix in a little water at a time until dough is somewhat stiff. Roll dough in small sections about 1/4 inch thick. Using a large biscuit cutter or drinking glass, make circle cuts.
• To make filling: Mix together potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and onion salt. Fill each with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture, fold over and seal edges. To cook, bring a large pot of water to boil, carefully dropping in one at a time; stir once. They are done when they float to the top.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and onions; cook and stir until the bacon is crisp and the onions are browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove bacon and onions to a small dish, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat for frying the pierogi.
• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash until smooth. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 1 egg and farmer's cheese. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water in a bowl for the egg wash.
• Place 2 to 3 wonton wrappers at a time on a lightly floured work surface. Brush the edges lightly with the egg wash. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each wrapper. Fold each pierogi in half and lightly press the edges together to seal.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pierogi in the boiling water until they float, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.
• Transfer pierogi to the skillet with reserved bacon drippings in batches and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl, toss with the bacon and onions, and serve garnished with sour cream and chives.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Meanwhile, prepare dough by combining 1 egg, 1 tablespoon cream cheese, 1 teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. Once all the flour has been worked in, add another 1/2 cup flour, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon milk. When the dough is well blended, add 1 egg, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and another 1/2 cup flour; mix well. Finally, add the remaining egg, 1 teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. If dough is too dry, add a little more milk; if too wet, add more flour.
• On a well floured surface, roll out 1/4 of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a glass, muffin cutter, or any rounded surface, cut out circles of dough. Flour both sides of the circle and set aside in a single layer on wax paper. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Mash the potatoes with the cottage cheese, salt and butter. Place a spoonful of the filling slightly below the center of a circle of dough. Fold the dough over and seal edges with fingertips. Use enough filling so that you have to stretch the dough over it, but not so much that it squeezes out when sealed.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in pierogis, a few at a time. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they float to the top; drain.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry boiled pierogis in hot oil until crispy.

Steps:

• For the dough: Work the egg, sour cream, butter and salt in a small bowl with a whisk or fork to form a batter. Pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the sour cream mixture and mix thoroughly with your hands until a dough forms. (The dough is ready to use right away but if you are not forming the pierogies immediately, wrap in plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.)
• For the filling: Stir together the mashed potatoes, cheese and chives in a medium bowl until well combined. Chill the filling so it is easier to work with.
• To form the pierogies: Roll the dough mass out to 1/8-inch thickness and cut 3-inch rounds. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in each round, and then fold over into half-moons, being careful not to push filling into the seam. Press closed and crimp with a fork if scalloped edges are preferred.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pierogies and wait until they float, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with chives and a crack of black pepper.

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Add the flour and salt to a large bowl; whisk to combine. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water and the butter over medium-high until butter is melted, about 3 minutes. Pour the buttery liquid into the flour gradually, stirring it in as you add it. (The dough will be quite crumbly and flaky at this point, like a biscuit dough.) Stir in the egg until combined then move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Cover the dough with a dampened towel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Prepare the filling: Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Add them to a large pot, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high and continue to cook at a simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
• While the potatoes cook, prepare the onions: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high. Add the onions, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown and softened, about 12 minutes. Set aside about 1 cup of onions for garnish and add the rest to a medium bowl.
• Transfer the cooked potatoes to a colander to drain, then transfer to the medium bowl with the onions. Add the cheese, stir to combine, season generously with salt and pepper, then let cool.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high.
• Prepare the wrappers: Cut the dough into two even pieces. (You'll want to leave one piece under the towel to stay moist while you work with the other piece.) You'll also want a small bowl of flour, a small bowl of water and a towel handy for keeping your hands clean. Dust some flour onto a baking sheet (for holding the pierogi) and your work surface, then roll out one portion of dough until 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter or inverted glass, punch 12 to 15 disks of dough. (Save and refrigerate the scraps to boil as a rustic pasta, in soup or another use.)
• Assemble the pierogi: Working with one disk at time, spoon a scant tablespoon of filling onto the middle of it. Fold the dough in half to enclose the filling, bringing the edges together to form a crescent shape. Pinch the two sides together at the top, then work your way down on both sides, pinching the dough over the filling and pushing in the filling as needed, making sure the potato mixture does not break the seal. If needed, you can dip your fingertip into water and moisten the dough in spots as needed to help the two sides adhere together.
• To form a rustic pattern on the curved seal, pinch the rounded rim underneath using your pointer finger and middle finger and press an indentation on top with your thumb, working your way along the rounded rim. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. (If you've gotten some filling on your fingers, dip your fingertips into the bowl of water then dry them off on the towel.)
• Repeat with remaining disks, then repeat the entire process with the remaining portion of dough. You'll want to work fairly quickly, as the pierogi can be harder to seal if they start to dry out. (If cooking the pierogi at a later point, transfer them on the baking sheet to the freezer until frozen solid, then transfer the pierogi to a resealable bag and freeze.)
• To cook the pierogi, add a single layer of pierogi to the pot of boiling water. Let them cook until they rise to the surface, about 2 minutes, then cook another 2 to 3 minutes until puffy. (With frozen dumplings, you will need to increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes.) Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked dumplings to a colander to drain, then boil remaining dumplings.
• If you want to pan-fry your pierogi, working in batches, melt 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high until crackling. Add a few boiled pierogi in a single layer to avoid overcrowding, and cook until crisp and golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining pierogi, adding butter as needed.
• Serve hot. Top with any browned butter from the pan, warmed reserved onions, sour cream and herbs.