Pierogi – Sauerkraut & Mushrooms

• I started to write up a new filling for pierogi and realised that many of my different fillings were in one general pierogi – Polish filled pasta  post.
• This was one of my earlier posts before I realised that shorter posts were better.
• So I am going back and posting shorter versions of this original post.
• Each with just 1 filling.
• Sauerkraut & Mushrooms is a very popular filling.
• Some people make these for Wigilia – Christmas Eve.

Ingredients – Filling

• 1 jar of sauerkraut
• 25 – 30g of dried mushrooms
• 1 or 2 onions – chopped fine
• 1 -2 bay leaves
• Ground pepper to taste

Method – Filling

The filling must be allowed to cooled before using  –  you can make it in advance – even the day before.

At the end the filling must be as dry as possible to make the assembly of the pierogi easier.

• Put the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water.
• Leave them overnight.
• Strain the mushrooms – but keep the liquid.
• Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
• *
• Strain the sauerkraut, keep the liquid, and chop into small pieces.
• 
• Put the sauerkraut into a pan, add the liquid from the sauerkraut and some from the mushroom liquid.
• Cover with boiling water if need be.
• Add the bay leaves.
• Cover the pan with a lid.
• Simmer gently for around 30 minutes.
• Checking it does not dry out.
• Remove the lid.
• Then boil off as much liquid as possible without burning the sauerkraut.
• *
• Allow the sauerkraut to cool and remove the bay leaves.
• Strain the sauerkraut using a sieve to get it as dry as possible.
• 

  

  
• You can put this into a clean dry cotton or linen cloth and twist the ends together –
• Squeeze to get it really dry.
• *
• Whilst the sauerkraut is cooking heat the chopped mushrooms gently in a small pan with the rest of the liquor, stirring to prevent it burning but reducing as much of the possible.
• *
• Chop the onions finely and fry them till they are soft and golden.
• Add them to the mushroom mixture and mix well together.
• Mix the sauerkraut, mushrooms and onions together.
• Add some ground black pepper to taste; salt should not be necessary.
  

  
• OPTION 
• Add fresh mushrooms fried in butter and chopped fine to the filling.

• Ingredients – Dough

• 250g pasta flour or strong flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
• 150ml water
• 1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• *
• Melted butter for serving or chopped onions cooked in butter.

Method – Dough

• In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolk.
• Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
• Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.
• Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
• Cut the dough into quarters.
• On a floured board roll out a quarter at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
• Now prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
• Have a large surface such as a tray covered with a cotton or linen cloth which has been lightly floured ready  and place the sealed pierogi on this until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
• I cut them out using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
• I have noticed some people make them larger – I will try this out soon.
• The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
• Around a half tablespoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched together to make a good seal.
• You learn from experience how much filling to put in as too much will make it hard to seal them and if not properly sealed they will burst on boiling. 
• Do not worry if you have a few mishaps – it still happens to me even with experience – it is hard to salvage one that has gone wrong – just accept that there will be a few that you do not cook.
• *
• To cook the pierogi, use a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a drizzle of oil.
• Drop the pierogi in one by one and allow them to boil.  I usually do about 6 to 8 at a time (I only do 6 at a time if using frozen ones).
• As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 to 3 minutes, (a bit more if they were frozen*), and
• Then remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and put into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain and serve.
• Continue boiling batches in the same water.
• If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get a large shallow dish.*
• Put in the pierogi and add melted butter.
• Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
  • *I often open freeze them for later.

• Serve with melted butter or
• Melted butter and breadcrumbs or
• Onions fried in butter or
• Fried bacon bits – skwarki.