Spinach is often added to twaróg or yoghurt cheese but I wanted a more meaty mixture.
Lots of spinach cooks down to quite a small amount so the amount can be whatever you have.
You can mince the chicken and spinach but I used a mini-chopper, which gave a great smooth filling.
Ingredients – Filling
150 – 200g cooked chicken thighs
150 -200g fresh spinach
1-2 tablespoons melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
*
Melted butter to serve
Method – Filling
Blanch the spinach in rosȯł, chicken stock or boiling water for several minutes.
Let it cool and drain it.
Whisk the spinach in a mini chopper.
Minch the chicken or use a mini chopper.
Mix the spinach with the chicken until well mixed.
Mix well in the cooled, melted butter.
Season to taste.
*
Serve with melted butter.
*
Instructions for putting the pierogi together are below the photographs.
How to make pierogi
Ingredients – Dough
250g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
150ml water
1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk.
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.
Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
*
Cut the dough into half.
Prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean cotton or linen tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
On a floured board roll out the dough a half at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
Cut out circles using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
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 – 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.
Place the sealed pierogi on prepared tray until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
*
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 5 to 6 at a time.
As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 minutes 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 with melted butter.
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 oven proof dish.
Melt lots of butter in the dish.
Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the dish and coat them with the melted butter.
I wanted to make a coffee tort using strong ground coffee rather than instant.
I think my mother used Camp Coffee – concentrated syrup flavoured with coffee and chicory.
It was first produced in 1876 by S. Paterson & Sons Ltd in Glasgow.
Camp Coffee is still made today and used mainly in home baking.
I made two sponge cakes with the method of weighing the eggs in their shells and then weighing the same amounts of butter, caster sugar and plain flour.
I made a 2 egg version but you can easily make a bigger cake and adjust the ingredients and cake tin sizes.
You can make more butter cream to cover the sides.
Ingredients – Cake
2 eggs
Equal weights of –
-Butter
-Caster sugar
-Plain flour
2½ teaspoons of baking powder
1 tablespoon of strong coffee
*
125ml strong coffee & 2 tablespoons of sugar – mixed so the sugar dissolves
* you can use a larger volume of coffee- say 180ml or even 250ml – adjust the sugar
Method – Cake
Line the bases of 2 x 18cm diameter sandwich tins.
Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
Mix the flour with the baking powder.
Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.
Beat in the coffee.
Beat in the eggs – one by one.
Fold in the flour.
Divide the mixture between the two tins.
Bake for 20 to 25 mins.
Leave to cool in the tins on a baking rack.
Ingredients – Butter Cream
100g butter
200g icing sugar – more may be needed
3 tablespoons strong coffee
Method – Butter Cream
Cream the butter with half of the icing sugar.
Mix in and cream the coffee.
Add the rest of the icing sugar, bit by bit until you have the consistency you require.
Assembling the tort
Place one of the two cakes on a flat cake plate.
Use half the coffee and sugar mixture and spoon it over the cake.
Spread half the butter cream over the cake.
Put the second cake over the butter cream.
Use the rest of the coffee and sugar mixture over the top.
Spread the rest of the butter cream over the top.
Using a pointed spatula, make a pattern in the butter cream.
You can mince the chicken and beans but I used a mini-chopper, which gave a great smooth filling.
This makes a lot of filling so I have given instructions for 500g of flour for the dough.
The amount of chilli will vary depending on how fresh your chilli powder is and your tastes.
Use paprika instead of chilli if you do not like food hot.
Ingredients – Filling
Tin Kidney beans – drained
250 – 350g cooked chicken
2- 3 teaspoons chilli powder (to taste or paprika)
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 egg yolks
Salt & pepper to taste
Method – Filling
Mash the beans well or use a mini chopper.
Mince the chicken or use a mini chopper.
Combine the chicken and beans.
Add the melted butter and the egg yolks and mix well.
Add the chilli and season to taste.
To Serve
Serve with melted butter.
Serve with onions – char cooked in butter.
Serve with onions cooked with chopped peppers – can also add some chopped fresh chilli.
Serve with melted butter with chilli flakes add – NOT tested.
How to make pierogi
Ingredients – Dough
500g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
300ml water
1 -2 tablespoons oil – sunflower or light olive
½ teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
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.
Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
*
Cut the dough into quarters.
Prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean cotton or linen tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
On a floured board roll out the dough a quarter at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
Cut out circles using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
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 – 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.
Place the sealed pierogi on prepared tray until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
*
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 5 to 6 at a time.
As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 minutes 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 with melted butter.
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 oven proof dish.
Melt lots of butter in the dish.
Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the dish and coat them with the melted butter.
You can mince the chicken and carrots but I used a mini-chopper, which gave a great smooth filling.
Ingredients
200g of cooked chicken thighs – without bones or skin
5-6 carrots boiled with the thighs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
1 egg yolk
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
Mince or use a mini-chopper to get a smooth mixture of chicken and carrots.
Mix in the melted butter and egg yolk.
Season to taste.
Use the filling to make pierogi in the usual way.
*
Serve with melted butter.
*
I have added how to make pierogi – below the photographs.
How to make pierogi
Ingredients – Dough
250g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
150ml water
1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
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.
Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
*
Cut the dough into half.
Prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean cotton or linen tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
On a floured board roll out the dough a half at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
Cut out circles using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
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 – 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.
Place the sealed pierogi on prepared tray until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
*
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 5 to 6 at a time.
As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 minutes 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 with melted butter.
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 oven proof dish.
Melt lots of butter in the dish.
Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the dish and coat them with the melted butter.
Journey From A Polish Kitchen 