From Babcio’s cookbook
Written for 8. Change that in the app and the amounts follow.
Tick things off as you get them ready.
Let us start with the dough, kochanie: combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre, crack in the egg, and slowly pour in a cup of warm water. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for a good 8 to 10 minutes until it is silky and elastic. Wrap it in a clean towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, boil the potatoes in well-salted water until completely tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and mash until perfectly smooth: no lumps allowed in Babcio's kitchen, I beg of you!
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and fry the diced onion until deeply golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Don't rush it, darling: those caramelised bits are pure magic. Fold the golden onion into the warm mashed potato along with the crumbled farmer's cheese. Season generously with salt and white pepper, then taste. The filling should make you smile.
Divide the rested dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one half out to about 2 millimetres thick. Cut circles with a drinking glass or a 3-inch cutter, gather the scraps, re-roll and cut again until the dough is used up.
Place a generous teaspoon of filling in the centre of each circle. Fold in half over the filling, press the edges firmly with your fingers, then crimp with the tines of a fork to seal tight. No gaps, kochanie: a leaking pierogi is a heartbreak!
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Cook the pierogi in batches: do not crowd the pot. They are done about 2 to 3 minutes after they float. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto an oiled plate.
Now the finishing touch, and it is non-negotiable in my kitchen: melt a good knob of butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat and pan-fry the boiled pierogi until golden and slightly crisp on each side, about 2 minutes a side.
Serve hot, piled high, with a dollop of sour cream and a heap of the caramelised onions on top. Smacznego, my dear.
What she’d tell you
The dough rests for thirty minutes while you prepare the filling. Pierogi are not difficult, kochanie: they are patient. Make the full batch: they freeze raw on a tray better than almost anything in this book, and a bag of them in the freezer is a Tuesday you do not have to think about.
dry cottage cheese, or ricotta drained overnight in a sieve
Greek yogurt: sharper, and honestly very good here
black pepper; it will speckle the filling, which bothers nobody
Cooked, three days covered in the fridge. Uncooked, three months in the freezer: freeze them raw in a single layer on a tray first, then bag them.
Straight into butter in a hot pan from cold. Frozen raw ones go into boiling water without thawing and take a minute or two longer.
