Pierogies

last night I took my first stab at making homemade pierogies! and, amazingly enough, they came out much, much better than expected.
basically, to make pierogies you need to make mashed potatoes and dough. you will also need a pot to boil the pierogies, as well as a skillet to sautee the pierogies after they've been boiled.

filling:

• 3 medium potatoes, washed and cut into chunks (I used red potatoes with the skin on)


• 3-4 garlic cloves (I like a lot of garlic, so you can definitely add less)


• 1/4-1/2 cup soy milk (I found that leaving the potatoes a little on the dry side worked best)


• 1 medium onion, minced


• 1-2 tsp margarine


• salt and pepper to taste (I started with 1/2 tsp each)

dough:

• 1 cup flour


• 1/4 cup water


• 1 tsp olive oil

1. fill a large pot with water and turn to high heat
2. wash and cut the potatoes, and dice and mince the onion and garlic
3. boil the potatoes until they are tender, and at the same time sautee the onion and garlic in a skillet
4. once the onion and garlic are done, pour them into a bowl along with the drained potatoes, milk, and margarine. I used a potato masher to combine all the ingredients, but you could also use a hand mixer.

dough:
combine all dough ingredients in a bowl. once fully combined, knead the dough on a cutting board lightly dusted with flour. roll the dough out thin, but not TOO thin. you want it about 1/8-1/4 inch (you want it thin enough that it cooks well and isn't too doughy, but not so thin that it tears when you fill it with potato mixture. using a cookie cutter or the top of a glass, cut out circles. I made mine about 3 inches across, but you can make them whatever size you want. once you have all of your circles cut out, scoop a small amount (depending on the size of your circle, 2 tsp-1tbsp) of the potato mixture onto the center of the circle. fold over, pinch the edges lightly with your fingers, then press down with the tines of a fork for a nice detail.

once all of the pierogies are assembled, the cooking process is SO EASY. add the finished pierogies to the boiling water. they cook very quickly; the rule of thumb is that when they begin to float, they're done. you'll notice that they are now shiny.
remove pierogies from the boiling water and place in a skillet on medium heat with 1 tbsp of margarine. sautee until the pierogies turn golden brown, and serve!



the finished product: