#Pierogi Dumplings

[suetravelblog]

Kraków Poland January 2024

[daily-deliciousness]

Roasted garlic cheddar pierogi

[fattributes]

Pierogi Ruskie

[pierog]

Hey! I have to ask because you seem like a good resource, I have never had a PIEROGI before, and want to know if you have any good recipes for them?

PIEROGI RECIPE from my babcia

ingredients: 10 medium sized potatoes 250g curd cheese, or a mix of ricotta and cream cheese 1 large onion salt and pepper sour cream, butter, & bacon to serve

and, for the dough: 4 cups white plain flour approx 1 cup of water tablespoon of olive oil (or you can buy round dumpling sheets from asian supermarket if lazy)

TO MAKE

peel, cut and boil potates until cooked

chop your onion finely and caramelise it in a bit of oil.. don't let em burn or they'll taste bitter

mash your potates and cheese. add the onion, salt and pepper, and mix very well. cover with glad wrap and set aside

in a mixing bowl add your flour and salt to taste. start adding the water or oil until you have a dough you can roll out very thinly

put a large pot full of water to boil, add one tsp of salt & a glug of cooking oil to stop the sticking

knead your dough a few times til it becomes elastic and easy to work with

lightly flour your work surface and, with a rolling pin, roll the dough as thin as possible, like 1-2mm. the thinner you can do this the yummier the final result, but work within your comfort zone, as you don't want the pierogi to split when boiling

use a glass to cut circles out of the dough

placing the circle of dough in the palm of your hand, stretch slightly and add a heaped teaspoon or more of the potato/cheese mixture. yummy!

stretch the dough around the mixture to seal into a dumpling, and place them on a floured plate

when you're ready, boil your pierogi about 5 or 6 at a time, making sure they don't stick to each other or the pan. boil til they float to the surface.

pull them out with a slotted spoon and lay them on a draining board to cool congrats! you have make delicious pierogi ruskie. you can eat them straight away, but i loooove to fry them all crispy in oil and butter... i hope this brings you so much love and dumpling

[pol-ski]

Tell me you're Polish without telling me you're Polish 😄

[fantasy-costco]

The thing about me is that I'm always one step away from wanting gyoza. Any mention of gyoza or dumplings in general and I'm like damn I want gyoza. They're so good. Basically the ideal food. I should get gyoza.

[morethansalad]

Potato Pierogi with Edible Flowers (Vegan-Friendly)

[dykefaggotry]

tiktok is so wild. how are yall this combative all the time

[skulkie]

I want a potluck where the only thing you're allowed to bring is dumplings

[timmurleyart]

Polish Pierogies 🇵🇱🥟🥟😋🥟🥟🥟

[haysillustrations]

✨ PIEROGI ✨

These are accidentally vegan mushroom and sauerkraut pierogi that I found in a local supermarket! I had them with oat-based crème fraîche and chives 🌿

[retrowaving1]

Polish Versus Ukrainian Cuisine, Part 1

I have to confess, I have a little sin on my consciousness, namely, I visit Instagram sometimes. In most cases I do that just to catch up with my friends and family, but, you know, as most of young people of my age I just end up scrolling a tiny bit (usually, right until the moment I feel the urge to vomit, as I genuinely hate this place).

Recently, I came across a very cozy video where a Korean home cook mixes a Polish Pierogi Ruskie recipe with some Korean toppings. The thing that confused me the most, though, was the most liked comment under this video left by a Ukrainian woman who claimed that Pierogi Ruskie is a Ukrainian dish and is, in fact, called Varenyky. It's easy to assume that this person has never made a single dumpling, varenyk or pieróg in her entire life, as she kept on claiming that Pierogi Ruskie can have a lot of different fillings and that Polish Pierogi don't have such a big choice of fillings as Ukrainian Varenyky do, so, clearly, this person had zero idea what Pierogi Ruskie actually are, but that's not the point.

This comment made me wonder how different are the two cuisines of those Eastern European countries. Having lived long years in both countries, I thought it would be interesting to study this topic a little bit, namely from the perspective of the difference between the staple dishes in two cuisines. After all, we actually are what we eat, especially on the global scale. Everyone knows Italy for their brilliant pizza and pasta, and everyone knows Japan for sushi and tempura, and even though food is not the only aspect of those cultures that made them famous around the world, it definitely adds up to create a full picture of their collective cultural identity.

So, in this post I'd like to share some personal observations that I made throughout my life about Polish and Ukrainian cuisine having lived significant portions of life in both countries, being ethnically related to both and being wholeheartedly fascinated by food.

Disclaimer!!! I'm not a food scientist or chef, nor am I a professional historian. All the notes down here are mostly based on my personal observations and some basic research. I did consult a professional cook and a baker whom I know personally as they happen to be my family members. I do recommend treating everything I share here with a grain of salt (hehe, because we gonna talk 'bout cookin', hehe, so use salt) and bear in mind that different cooks have different approaches to their recipes and your personal experience with Ukrainian and Polish food might differ from mine. That being said, I encourage you to share these experiences whether you are Ukrainian, Polish or anyone else, really. I do not accept such arguments as "Ruskie because Kyiv Rus!", though, as it's not about arguing in the first place, it's about diving into the heritage of those two countries and talking about the food.

Pierogi vs. Вареники

Let's start with them culprits. I think those two dishes are the most confusing ones because of their similarity. Gosh, both of them are dumplings from Eastern Europe shaped like a growing moon, aren't they?

The dough for both dishes varies from region to region, from cook to cook. In my experience, both recipes need three basic ingredients:

- liquid

- salt

- flour

The rest depends, really. You can change the four, you can change the liquid, replacing water with milk or kefir, you can add an egg. I personally go with my mother's recipe which is boiling hot water, egg, AP flour and salt.

Two of the striking differences are their size and shape. It seems like Ukrainian dumplings are usually smaller, flatter and quite translucent in comparison to Polish ones, which are big, sometimes even huge (check Pierogi Po Bieszczadzku, they are bigger than my fists, I kid you not), they have a very full body and the dough itself is thicker (the reason is not so much ingredients in the dough as is the method of forming/cutting the circles out of it). They also have a lot of different really funny regional names which very often also refer to the size, shape, filling or method of preparation, for instance, Dzyndzałki (Warmian small dumplings served in soup), Bulwanki (Eastern Polish holiday pierogi with variety of savoury fillings), Sasznie (A type of dumplings from Eastern Borderlands that use potato in the dough) or Sójki (Masovian baked pierogi made with yeast).

The fillings of both Pierogi and Varenyky basically might create their own multiverse. In both Poland and Ukraine, I found so many different combinations of fillings that it would be a waste of time to write about each one of them. However, Pierogi most often have savoury fillings (from meat through cheese and potatoes though different types of groats and the list goes on and on..), while Varenyky have a bigger variety of sweet fillings, including the classic cherry filling. Also, Ukrainians seem to be not very much into the meat filling. In my childhood, I had never eaten meat dumplings in Ukraine, however, at the time, pelmeni were quite a popular alternative. Ah, classic Soviet influence - replace your own with something russian )yuck.

As for the toppings, depending on what kind of filling you are dealing with, there are many alternatives for both dishes, including chives, fried bacon, sour cream, melted butter, caramel sauce (haven't seen this one in Ukraine, but noticed it being popular in Poland with sweet cottage cheese Pierogi) and many others. Both dishes are absolutely marvelous even without any additions.

Now, if anyone says that Pierogi Ruskie are called that way because they are Ukrainian, they are not entirely wrong. This type of pierogi was invented in Eastern Galicia (a geographical region in Western Ukraine which was also used to refer to the Eastern part of Poland; The name derives from its Polish name of territory - "Ruś Czerwona" ("Ruthenia Rubra" in Latin)), however there's a high chance it happened when it was the part of Austrian Empire, when majority of population in this region, especially in big cities including Lviv, were Polish. Either way, this dish is much more popular in modern Poland and has lots of different regional variations that you can meet across the whole country (see the Bryndzylki designed by Polish Highlanders), while it's basically non-existent in Ukraine and in the country they are often called "польські пироги" (literally "Polish Pierogi". Pierogi Ruskie are prepared with cheese, onion and potato filling, while in Ukraine you are more likely to come across some Varenyky with potato, onion and bacon filling.

Thank you very much for your attention, share your dumpling preferences and experiences in the comments or in the reblogs, share your recipes, go crazy, and let's discuss the food!!

My pierogi variation with cottage cheese and strawberry jam filling (not the most attractively shaped one, but very tasty - my significant other approved them):

[daily-deliciousness]

Creamy pierogi chicken soup with rosemary bacon

[fattributes]

Homemade Pierogies

[julieschulerart]

Plate of Pierogies. 8" x 10" Original painting. https://jschulerart.etsy.com/listing/1400434681

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello beautiful! ✨🖤

I have an idea for a new AU with Thena and Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh starts at an elite culinary school where the food in each lesson is judged by strict critics.

The students in the higher classes warn the new ones that one specific critic (Thena) can never be satisfied and never gives a good review. Many students have dropped out of school because of this. But Gilgamesh wants to see for himself.

🖤✨ Hgs and Love! ✨🖤

"I heard she made everyone in her class cry in their first lesson."

"I heard that she subs in for real food critics sometimes."

"I heard that the dean himself gave her a full-ride scholarship she's so good."

Gil rolls his eyes at the classmates of his whispering - loudly - about their expected panel of judges. He doesn't think this critic can possibly be as frightening as people are making her out to be. She's just a student, like them, right?

"Can't they just put us out of our misery?" Druig grumbles next to him, shifting nervously on his feet as he looks down at his dish.

"Hey," Gil nudges his shorter, more nervous friend, "don't look so freaked out. "It's a great dish."

Druig sighs, "thanks, man. But it's not you I gotta impress, is it? It's 'em."

The door opens and three senior students step into the room.

Sersi is the top student in the Molecular Gastronomy course. She makes creations that seem transmuted right down to the atomic level, it seems sometimes. They look stunning, they're always delicious, and the way she can make one thing taste entirely different from how it looks is always a showstopper.

Phastos all but wrote the bible by which the school acts. He doesn't cook, but his knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics--is so all-encompassing that there's basically nothing he doesn't know. It is just a rumour, but supposedly he has written all the recipes the courses use for instructing students since he arrived.

Thena is last, and by far the scariest. She looks like she's never seen the sun or eaten a morsel of food, at that. Her reputation precedes her, and her perfect palette is as terrifying as it is rare. She doesn't cook either, but if there is any sort of flaw in any way, she will detect it. And she won't have the smile on her face that Sersi does when she breaks the news.

Thena stands between the other two, eyeing the class with an expression that already screams that she's not looking forward to this. "Please present your dishes."

The first two come up, their trays rattling from their nerves.

Gil watches from his table a little further in the back. Sersi and Phastos try first, giving their praise as well as gentle critiques and advice. Once Thena is done sniffing it, she takes a bite.

"You lack identity."

The whole class practically keels over. It may seem small, and maybe even nitpicky. But to hear that you - as a chef - have no identity in your food?--it's devastating.

"I would say you lack creativity, but that is not what this is," she states and sets her spoon down after the one bite. "You have replicated a family recipe in the hopes that it would convey an emotion. But the balance has been put off by your muddled intentions. It's over-seasoned, and the flavours battling for dominance has overpowered what would actually make it shine if you weren't so clumsy."

The class is practically crying for their fallen comrade. And this is round one!

Druig blows out a breath as they watch their fellow student shuffle back to his table in shame (borderline in tears). "And the Ice Queen strikes again."

Gil stares straight ahead. He shrugs, "she did give him advice, though."

Druig looks at him with wide eyes. "If I shove you into a lion's den and tell you not to die, that's advice, I s'pose."

Gil chuckles just a little, still watching eagerly, "shut up."

The critique goes on, many falling to the Ice Queen's sharp words along the way. It's not that she has nothing nice to say at all, it's just that the bad seems to always outweigh the good for her.

Sersi and Phastos offer sympathetic smiles and waves; obviously they're used to this.

"Next."

Gil and Druig approach with their trays, a plate for each judge. Druig goes first.

He clears his throat, "I-I've made a confit salmon with swiss chard gelee and potato mousseline."

Sersi smiles brightly at them, showing off what's made her such a darling of the culinary world already. "That's very impressive, Druig!"

"A lot of technique," Phastos murmurs as he takes a bite. "The textures are right, although it's maybe a little soft overall."

Druig nods, taking the criticism at face value, "thank you."

"You have too much to prove."

Gil keeps a careful eye on his tablemate. Druig is stubborn, and younger than the rest of them. She's right, she just doesn't have to say it like that.

Druig stands tall against it, though. He looks the Ice Queen in the eye as he says, "and?"

Thena raises her eyes to him. Gil sees that they're green for the first time. "You've selected the most advanced techniques you've mastered thus far, but as Phastos said, there is no cohesion to the presentation of all of them in one dish. You didn't have to make a mousse of the potatoes--in fact, potatoes are not what I would have served with salmon in the first place."

Druig crosses his arms.

"The salmon is cooked perfectly," Thena says just as cut and dry as the negative stuff. She places her fork down, again, needing only one bite of each element to make her assessment. "It only brings out that, had you leaned into your strengths instead of showcasing your weaknesses, this could be perfect."

Druig has his arguing face on, and Gil almost wonders if he should drag him back from the judging table to cool off. He rolls his eyes, though, going back into his dismissive and pouty shell for the time being. He huffs, "I'll take it."

Gil is left alone as Druig moves back to the table.

Sersi smiles, "and what have you made today?"

"Chicken and dumplings!"

A poor man's dish. Chicken stew with dumplings in it: something that needs no technique to put forth. The whole room is silent, not even trying to hide the overall horror that has descended over them.

Even Sersi strains a little to smile at him as they pull their bowls closer. "How...interesting."

"I know, I know," Gil laughs, watching as Thena draws her spoon up to smell everything. "Just hear me out."

"I made a really quick chicken stock and let it simmer while I was preparing everything else. I made it more ramen style than country chicken soup style, but I also added some cinnamon and star anise to kind of have an element of what makes pho so comforting."

"Then while that was simmering I was roasting some veg with the other half of the carcass. I mashed up and then pan fried some potatoes and there's actually a little something in those dumplings."

"Well, that certainly sounds..." Sersi trails off, looking to her left as she holds a dumpling in hand, "impressive."

Thena is smiling.

She licks her lips as she puts her spoon down, still smiling at the shimmering bowl of broth. She picks up a dumpling and her eyes spark.

"You already know, don't you?" Gil smiles sheepishly. She looks at him as she takes a bite, pulling out the cheese he put in the centre. He snickers at the look on her face. "I made a simple mash and then turned it in to a dough with some flour and a little duck egg for some bite to it. Then I added a little more potato with some butter and the little piece of cheese curd for some chew. Like a-"

"Pierogi."

Phastos pushes his glasses up his nose as Thena utters something that isn't a direct review of the food.

Gil beams, his whole chest swelling with warmth from the inside out. "You order them for lunch all the time, right? You must have made them when you were little."

Thena smiles, taking a second bite of the fried mashed potatoes and their filling. "I did."

Gil celebrates to himself a little, clenching his fist. He looks over his shoulder and gives Druig a big thumb's up.

Thena takes another bite of the soup, too, her lashes fluttering as she savours the small but deliberate spoonful. "Hm."

Gil inches forward.

"It's not...perfect."

The class lets out a collective sigh.

"But," Thena is still smiling, taking a third bite. "I think it's about as close as I've ever had."