I’m in Poland, so I thought it would be fitting to make something Polish.
These dumplings, or pierogi, are one of my absolute favourite Polish foods, and strawberry is probably my favourite pierogi filling. YUM.
They are my Mum’s specialty. She makes the best pierogi I’ve ever had and I’ve eaten quite a few.
They are entire restaurants here in Poland that just make pierogi and nothing else; lots and lots of differently flavoured (or filled) dumplings. Savoury fillings and sweet fillings, meat fillings and seafood fillings, fruit fillings and cheese fillings.
All of that and my Mum’s are still the best.
But to be completely honest, I did not make this pastry.
I am the chief filling maker. And a pro pierogi shaper.
But the dough is an art that has no specific measurements. It all comes down to touch and feel. So I leave that kinda stuff to Mum while I just take the photos and eat the goods!
STRAWBERRY DUMPLINGS (PIEROGI)
Mum’s recipe.
For the filling
1 kilo of strawberries
4-6 tbsp sugar, to taste
2 tbsp flour
For the pastry
2 large mugs of flour
a pinch of salt
3 heaped tbsp margarine
1 egg
a splash of milk
To make the filling, chop up the strawberries into small pieces and put them into a large bowl. Add the sugar and flour and mix well to combine. Set aside.
To make the pastry, put your flour on a clean work surface. Add the salt and the margarine. Use your fingers to mix the margarine into the flour. Once it is well combined, make a well in the centre and crack in the egg.
Pour in a splash of milk and knead everything together until a dough forms. If it is too dry, add more milk or margarine. If it is too wet, add a little flour. The dough should be soft but not sticky and easy to work with.
Divide the dough into two balls and place one half in a plastic bag and set aside.
On a floured surface, roll out the other ball of dough until it is 2-3mm thick.
Use a glass or round cookie cutter to cut circles about 8-10cm in diameter out of the dough.
Repeat this process with the other ball of dough. Gather all the scraps together to form another ball and repeat again.
Take a circle of dough and place a small tablespoon of filling on one half.
Take it in your hand and fold it in half to form a half moon shape. Then using your fingers, press the edges of the half moon together to seal them. Repeat until you have used all the dough and all the filling.
Thanks Mum for being a great hand model!
Once you have made all of your pierogi, fill a medium pot with water and set it on the stove to boil.
When the water is boiling, drop the pierogi inside, about 8-10 at a time.
Once all the pierogi rise to the surface, boil them for 2 minutes.
Remove them from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and set them aside to drain. Repeat with the other pierogi.
Serve with some thickened cream sweetened with vanilla sugar and eat up! Makes about 50 pierogi.
I love to eat these cold the next day but if you want to reheat them, just throw them back into boiling water for a couple of minutes.
