Pierogi ruskie - dumplings with potato and cottage cheese

Published: April 26th, 2023 - Last updated: September 16th, 2023

Pierogi ruskie is currently one of the most famous and popular types of dumplings that find their gourmets not only in Poland. Filled with potato and cheese filling with onion and spices, dumplings can satisfy almost everyone. Whoever tried them once will definitely come back to them. Contrary to appearances, it is s simple dish that will come out for everyone.

This type of dumplings is now so widespread that it can be found in almost every home. They are served both on the festive table and in the everyday kitchen of many Poles.

Origin of the pierogi ruskie

Dumplings as a dish have existed in many parts of the world for a very long time. In Poland, they have been known since at least the 13th century. At that time they were originally known as "pirogi" and with some varieties, the name "piróg" remained. However, their variety known as "pierogi ruskie" was created a bit later.

Dumplings with potatoes and cheese were created in the territory of the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship and in the western part of Ukraine. These areas used to be called "ruś" (Ruthenia) or "ruś halicka". Hence the current name of this variety of dumplings, i.e. "pierogi ruskie". Some people mistakenly translate the name as Russian dumplings. But this is a great understatement because they have nothing to do with this country. Unfortunately, due to these bad associations, the name is often changed. You can often come across the name "Galician pierogi" or "Ukrainian pierogi". On the Ukrainian side, they are often called "Polish pierogi". Either way, regardless of the name, they are worth trying.

In the past, the content of cheese and other additions in dumplings varied depending on the family's wealth. However, this dish was so simple and filling that it became popular very quickly.

How to serve dumplings?

The dish can be served in many delicious ways. One of the popular additions is crispy cracklings. You can also serve them with fried onions or sour cream. The most popular are boiled dumplings, but you can also find dumplings that are fried. When the dumplings are cooked (for example for the next day), they can be served slightly pre-cooked or fried in a pan. Some even claim that the fried and crispy ones are much tastier. It's definitely worth trying this variant. Sometimes I came across fried dumplings with a pinch of salt added, or in a modern version liked by children with the addition of ketchup.

Recipe informations:

Preparation

60 minutes

Total

64 minutes

Yield

Servings 60

4 (1)

Ingredients for the stuffing

500 g of boiled potatoes
300 g of semi-fat cottage cheese
large onion
2 tablespoons of butter
half a teaspoon of salt and pepper

Ingredients for dough

500 g of wheat flour
4 tablespoons of oil - 50 ml
half a teaspoon of salt

Steps for stuffing

1. Step

Peel approximately 650-700 grams of potatoes and boil them in salted water until they are tender. After draining the water, ensure that the potatoes are dried thoroughly before mashing them with a potato masher or by any other means necessary. You should aim to obtain no more than 500 grams of mashed potato mass from this process. Allow the puree to cool down completely before proceeding further. Once cooled, incorporate half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper into the bowl containing your mashed potatoes for seasoning purposes.

2. Step

Peel and finely chop a large onion, or use several smaller ones that have a combined weight of approximately 300 grams. Heat up two tablespoons of clarified butter in the frying pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion and fry on medium heat for about 10 minutes until it turns translucent and starts to caramelize slightly. If you prefer, you may substitute the clarified butter with light olive oil or any other type of cooking oil that suits your taste preference.

3. Step

Combine the mashed potatoes, finely chopped cottage cheese, sautéed onion in butter and season with salt and pepper to prepare the filling for dumplings.

Steps for dumplings

1. Step

Sift the flour into a wide bowl. Half a kilogram of flour is half of a standard one-kilogram package. Add half a teaspoon of salt and four tablespoons of e.g. rapeseed oil.

2. Step

Pour a glass of hot, boiled water and stir the dough with a spoon and then start kneading it. The dough should be soft, plastic and elastic.

3. Step

Wrap the finished ball of dough in foil and set aside for 30 minutes. The dough after aging will not shrink during rolling.

4. Step

After this time, unwrap the dough from the foil and divide it into 3 parts. Set two pieces aside and cover with a cotton cloth to keep the dough from drying out.

5. Step

Roll out one piece thinly on a pastry board or on a lightly floured surface. Using a cutter with a diameter of about 8 cm, cut out round patties for dumplings.

6. Step

Put the dumpling filling in the center of the pie. I flatten the stuffing ball slightly into the shape of a roll to perfectly fill the inside of the dumpling. Fold dumplings in half and glue the sides.

7. Step

Place each batch in a pot of salted, boiling water. The water should not be bubbling heavily. Fish out the dumplings about 3-4 minutes after they float to the surface. Cook all dumplings in this way.