Pierogi with Cheese and Potato Filling

Today we spent the afternoon trying to cook something new. We had never made Pierogi before. It was a little messy but fun since we were cooking together. I made the filling and Scot made the dough. We kind of combined a couple of Pierogi recipes that I found on the internet. It turned out great, but we will make the dough a little thicker next time. I think it would be fun to have a Pierogi -making dinner party. Have a few fillings (made up ahead of time) for your guests to choose from. Guests could assemble their own Pierogi and help make dinner. With a little bit of wine to drink while cooking, this could be lots of fun.

Pierogi is a classic Polish food. They are a dumpling -like ravioli, shaped in a half circle, filled with different fillings, and not served with sauce.

Dough:

1 pound or 3 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
a few spoon fulls of water

Filling:

2 pounds peeled Yukon Gold potatoes cubed
1/4 cup half and half
1 T butter, melted
1 onion chopped
olive oil
8 ounces shredded cheese

To make the Filling:
1. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water. Drain. In a large bowl, mash the potatoes with the butter and the half and half.
2. Saute the chopped onion in olive oil or butter. Combine the onion with the mashed potatoes and the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or chill while making the dough.


To make the Dough:
1. Place the flour , salt, and eggs in food processor. Process until dough comes together in a ball.
If dough is too dry add a small amount of water. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth, then let rest 10 minutes, covered.

2. Roll the dough out thin, similar to making fresh pasta. We used our manual pasta machine to roll out the dough. Do not get the dough too thin. Cut out circles from the dough. We used a 31/2 inch round cookie cutter, but a glass would also work.

3. Place 1/2 Tablespoon of filling on one side of each dough circle. Fold the dough over the filling (this makes a half circle) and seal by pressing with the tines of a fork, making sure none of the filling comes through the edges. The Pierogi should appear slightly overstuffed and plump.

4. In small batches, drop the pierogi into boiling water, stir to prevent them from sticking together, and cover loosely. When they float to the top, uncover the pot, and boil 2-3 minutes longer. Remove with a slotted spoon.

5. Serve with a cooked ground beef, sour cream, or with sauted mushrooms.