Saturday, April 2, 2011

Buckwheat pierogi

Hello all,

Here is another recipe I stumbled upon out of necessity.  I travel a lot and don't often get a chance to cook things where I am so while at home, I found some left over beef and onions from the night before and using this recipe made some delicious pierogi.  You will need:

  • 1 cup buckwheat (use a coffee grinder to grind the groats if you don't have access to flour)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbs. olive oil
  • 1-2 tbs. water
  • already cooked meat and/or vegetables
Mix all of the ingredients (like you do for the crackers) adding water while you stir until the consistency is like bread dough.  I find this recipe works better if the dough is firmer.  On wax paper roll out the dough into an oval making sure that the center is thicker than the edges.  Place a spoonful or so of the meat or vegetable in the center of the dough.  Holding the wax paper with the dough in your hands fold the ends of the dough around the meat.  Pinch the edges of the pierogi so that it seals around the meat.  I cook mine in a pan, but you probably could bake these and they'd turn out just fine.  In a pan add a drop of olive oil to prevent sticking then place the pierogi on one side over low heat.  After about 10 minutes gently flip the pierogi over to cook the other side.  If your pierogi is thick you can turn it on end to cook the middle.  Once it is done set on a plate to cool a little bit before eating.

I find that the dough gets kind of dry so you can butter or oil the outside as you cook it to prevent it from cracking too much.  I sometimes also add cream cheese or butter to the meat mixture to give it more moisture.  I have never fried mine, but you can also try that since traditionally pierogi are fried.  And don't forget you can also add spices to the dough to give it more flavor.

These make excellent lunches (almost like hot pockets) for when I travel that are quick and easy to make and eat.   Enjoy!

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