Submitted by Mrs. Iwona Wojtczak, Première Conseillère, Polish Embassy to Luxembourg
Pierogi (dumplings) with buckwheat groats according to my Grandma Marysia’s recipe
Ingredients for approx. 50 – 60 portions of pierogi:
Stuffing:
- 3/4 cup buckwheat groats (cook according to the recipe)
- 200g twaróg cheese – (This is a very popular in Poland, it’s our most important national cheese. It’s really delicious, fresh, and slightly sour. Sometimes we called it white cheese).
- 2 onions chopped into small cubes
- 1 tbsp clarified butter
- salt and pepper
Dough:
- 2 cups of flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1 tbsp oil or butter (I use butter for its taste but any vegetable oil will also work)
- pinch of salt
- water – it’s important to add hot water to the dough. It makes the dough soft and pliable. You should warm the water until it is hot, but not boiling (temperature around 80-90 °C / 176-194 °F). Too hot water will make the dough a little bit more chewy and sticky. Cold water will make the dough harder to roll out and it will be more difficult to shape the pierogi.
Preparation
- STEP 1: Cook the buckwheat, set aside to cool down. Fry chopped onion in the butter, then mix with white twaróg, buckwheat, add chopped mint leaves, salt and pepper.
- STEP 2: Add flour, salt and oil or butter. Gradually add the water and knead the dough. It should be soft and elastic.
- STEP 3: Roll out the pastry into a thin sheet and use a glass to cut out circles, which you fill the stuffing to make pierogi. You can also make a roll from the dough, dividing it into pieces from which you form small round that you roll out thinly.
- STEP 4: Place the filling on the round and shape pierogi.
- STEP 5: Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan and plunge in the dumplings in batches, stirring them gently with a wooden spoon to prevent them sticking together. When pierogi have risen to the surface, cook for a further 3 minutes, place in a colander, drizzle with cold water and remove from the pan.
- Serve with fried onions, pulled straight from the water with crème fraîche or fried in butter.
Smacznego!
Products as buckwheat, twaróg cheese can be found in the Polish shop in Luxembourg – located in the charming Pfaffenthal district, right next to the glass elevator leading to the center of the city.
Epicerie Fine Osada – 30 Rue Laurent Ménager, 2344 Luxembourg