Pierogi ruskie (dumplings with cheese and potatoes) are thought to have made it onto the Polish table from Russia. Hence their name. Russian dumplings. However, they have been made by Poles for centuries and have therefore become part of the Polish cuisine. The potato and cheese filling is very easy and cheap to make. These pierogi are very filling so it is hard to eat too many, but you can always have some later.

Ingredients

Dough 

1 kg plain flour

1/2 litre very hot water

4 Tbsp oil

1/4 cup fresh cream

1 tsp salt

Method

•  Boil the water in the jug and measure out 1/2 litre. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a small well in the centre of the flour. Slowly a little bit at a time, pour in the very hot water, being careful not to burn yourself, fold some of the flour over the water. Keep repeating the process until all the water has been added. Add the oil and cream and mix together to form a soft dough. Knead the dough slightly either in the bowl or on a floured surface. If not ready to use dough straight away, cover with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. Note: Once you have prepared this recipe once you will realise the affact adding the cream to the dough makes. This in fact is the secret ingredient. It makes the dough feel like play-dough, is very easy to work with and will stick together perfectly, but will never fall apart when being cooked. Try making the dough without the cream to see the difference.

Ingredients

Filling

2 kg potatoes (peeled and cooked)

400g continental cheese

2 onions

S & P to taste

oil for sauteing

Method

• Cool cooked potatoes. Once cold, add the cheese and sauted onion and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well. Don’t be afraid to use your hands. Makes the process much easier.

Assembling the pierogi

• On a lightly floured surface, I usually use my kitchen bench which has been thoroughly cleaned, roll out some of the dough, until around 3mm thick.
•  Using a round cookie cutter or cup, cut out circles in the dough. Keep rolling out the dough and cutting out the circles, until all the dough is used up. Note: I usually spread a little flour on the side of the bench and put the cut out circles on it. The size of the circles doesn’t really matter. Play around with different sizes and see what works for you.
• Assembling the pierogi is simple. Grab a dough circle, holding it in the palm of your hand put about a dessert spoon of the filling on to it. The amount of filling will depend though on the size of your circle, if you made the circles small then you will have to use less filling or if large then more filling.  Fold the dough in half, making sure that you enclose all of the filling leaving a small gap all around the dough, with your fingers squeeze the dough to close, making sure that there are no gaps, as when cooking the dumpling will take in water and fall apart. To make the edges pretty, pinch small amounts of dough between your index and middle fingers. 
• I like to arrange the assembled pierogi on baking trays that have been lined with baking paper. The pierogi won’t stick and when ready to cook, it is easy to hold a tray when dropping the dumplings in to the water. 
• If you are not cooking the pierogi and eating them right away, this is the time to freeze them for later. The prelined trays are great for freezing the pierogi. When arranging the dumplings on the trays, make sure that they are not touching. Simply put in the freezer with the trays until the pierogi are frozen, then remove from trays and put in suitable freezer bags, making sure to lable what filling is inside them.
• If cooking the pierogi, bring a very large pot of water to the boil. Once the water is boiling, drop the pierogi in to the pot. Try not to overcrowd the pot. If using a 5 litre pot, 20 pierogi at a time is plenty. Stir the pierogi gently with a slotted spoon. Make sure that the heat is on high and the water is boiling as the dumplings are cooking. Once the pierogi come up to the surface continue cooking for 5-6 minutes for fresh dough or 10 minutes if cooking frozen pierogi. Note: If cooking frozen pierogi, do not thaw before cooking. Once water is boiling, drop frozen pierogi in.
• Once cooked, remove pierogi on to a plate with a slotted spoon, shaking any excess water off. Arrange pierogi on a plate and serve. Pierogi can be spread with some melted butter or extra sauteed onion.
• If cooking the pierogi all at once, I like to arrange them on a platter and so that they don’t stick to together, I lightly spray them with either vegetable or olive oil before taking out the next batch.