Recipe(tried): Pirogie

Pirogie
From: Marilyn Robins


I learned this first hand from a wonderful Ukrainian lady and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do

Put approximately 6 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cooking oil and 1 egg in a large bowl. Then add enough cold water to make the dough stick so that you can knead it. You must knead the dough for some time and when you can pull a piece of the dough so that it snaps apart, it's ready.

I fill my pirogies with dry cottage cheese, mixed with chopped onion and cut up pieces of bacon lightly fried (salt & pepper to taste). Or you can fill them with potatoe and cheese or some people have filled them with fruit.

Roll out your dough on a floured table top, it's going to be tough, but it will spread. Then take a knife, and cut lines approximately 2 to 2 1/2 inches apart diagonally and horizontally, or you can take a jar top and cut out round pirogies. Put each piece of dough in your hand, take a teaspoon and fill the centre of the dough with your mixture and then "pinch" the edges together. In the meantime, have a large pot of water boiling on the stove, and when you have finally finished pop in enough pirogies to fill the bottom. Reduce the heat so that the boil is not a hard boil, and when the pirogies have come to the top of the water they are done. Take them out, rinse them off under the cold water tap, and then put them in a lightly oiled bowl. If you are going to freeze them, just pop them into freezer bags. If you are going to fry them for your dinner, fry them so that they become nice and crisp on both sides. They are good served with sour cream. For my family, we like them soft after they are rinsed, then on to our plates. I usually do up a cream topping for them. I take a small container of whipping cream, and I add 2 tablespoons of butter and chopped up onions and let that lightly simmer for a good 30 - 40 mins. Then I add a thickener of 1/3 cup cold water to maybe 1 tablespoon of flour mixed. Watch the cream mixture and stir it often. It's an all afternoon job, but they're good.