Okay...so I am not one bit Ukranian, but I do love perogies! So, when I had the chance to learn how to make home-made perogies with my Ukranian friend that has a perogy recipe that's been passed down through the generations, I was ecstatic! I was a little bit nervous because I'd heard how hard they are to make, but I was pleasantly surprised. They're actually pretty easy. Definitely time-consuming, but with the great company and adorable baby that I got to learn perogy making from, the time flew by!
As for the perogy recipe we used, my friend is not actually supposed to give it out as a cousin of hers makes perogies for a living with the family recipe. I feel super lucky to have received it myself, so am not going to push my luck by posting it online. That being said, I googled "perogy recipe" and there were a bundle of dough recipes that were very similar. For the general method, tune in to the pictures below!
Moving into the blocks at the start line with our handy dandy flour, butter and potatoes.
The dough. We made the dough as the potatoes were boiling so that it would sit for a while. I was amazed how much more manageable the dough became just by leaving it alone for a bit.
Boiling the potatoes. Just boil them in the same way that you would to make mashed potatoes, then make mashed potatoes adding butter, salt and pepper to taste. You don't need them to be super smooth, but you don't want there to be chunks either. If you want to add cheese or sauerkraut, you'd add it to the mashed potatoes. A little birdie told me that Cheez Whiz might be the cheese to use if adding cheese.
Rolling out the dough. You want it to be about 1/4 of an inch thick.
It's perogy making time!! Cut circles out of the dough. We used red wine glasses to cut ours. Then take some of the mashed potato mixture, put it in the center of the dough, stretch and fold the dough over the filling to make a semi-circle, and press the edges together to seal the perogy.
I'm making perogies!!!
Freeze them individually to start so they don't stick, and then pop them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.
We mashed approximately 8 pounds of potatoes and made one batch of dough. This made between 100-120 perogies. From start to finish, including letting the perogies freeze until we could put them in ziploc bags, took approximately 3 hours.
When you're ready to eat your yummy morsels take them out of the freezer and boil them. At the same time, melt butter in a pan, add onions and cook until soft. Add the boiled perogies to the pan and pan-fry gently until desired crispness. You can also add bacon if you want. Eat with sour cream if so desired.
Oh, how I love you perogies! My Ukranian friend, thank you so much for sharing your family recipe with me and for the great visit. I had a blast and I hope we can have a repeat soon!
