For as long as I can remember we have always had perogies at camp, homemade by a paternal aunt......I am not sure the first time I ever ate one of these pillowy potato filled sacks of goodness, but I can tell you this - I just love them! And who wouldn't? Potatoes + cheese + onions + pepper = good times!
After recently enjoying a fortnight in the woods of Northwestern Ontario I was lucky to come across an old Ukrainian woman's recipe for pergoies! I vaguely remember attempting to make perogies from scratch as a child in a yellow kitchen.....however I am pretty sure it was a lumpy dough disaster and each and every single one opened up as they were boiled.....I remember that I used white potatoes (peeled) and some form of orange cheese - most likely a shredded brick of cheddar....but exact species I am not sure....
What I absolutely love love love about perogies is their simplicity.....robust earthen potatoes with a sharp aged cheddar packed inside a pillowy dough soft and supple topped with carmelized purple onions, freshly cracked black pepper, and a dollop of sour cream....this is my west coast spin on an old Ukrainian favorite!
Fun Fact: Pittsburg is rumored to eat something like 10 times the amount of perogies as any other city.
Bonus: Perogies are easily frozen for a quick mid-week meal!
Dough:
4 cups flour
1 tub of Tillamook sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP sunflower oil
First blend together with a fork, then gradually begin kneading in the bowl with one hand (disposable rubber glove) while holding the bowl on an angle with the other hand. As soon as the dough forms a ball cover with Saran wrap and let stand a few hours....I was lucky enough to have 15 loads of laundry to do so I was lucky to be spending the day at home! For real - I love cleaning..,
Filling:
Red potatoes
Sharp cheddar cheese
butter
olive oil
seasoned salt
garlic powder
milk
Clean potatoes and boil until done. Mash with all remaining ingredients except for cheese. When potatoes are creamy and well blended stir in the cheese until it melts with a wooden spoon. It is imperative that you use a wooden spoon on this part...
Place potatoes in a bowl in the refrigerator until thoroughly cooled. I made the mistake of making WAY TOO MUCH filling....however I now have enough leftovers for two dinners.....hello week-day-meal-time-saver!
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, I used a water glass to cut out the circles and then rolled them out again.....really I needed to roll the dough out even thinner......I'll let you fiddle around with it.....I just think I need more practice....then place a cigar shaped piece of potato mixture in the middle - brush edges with just a tad of warmish water and then fold in half and seal.....you want to have circles with clean edges......boil in water until they float! Serve with sautéed onions and freshly ground black pepper and sour cream.....bacon of course would pair well with this either on the inside or with the onions.....and if I could do it all over again I would add some fresh chives to the potatoes.....
~Enjoy
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