Ukrainian Pierogi - The Washington Post |

Scott Suchman for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese are beloved throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and in Ukraine may also be known as vareniki. Recipes for them are often scaled to feed a crowd, but the assembled, uncooked dumplings freeze well, and can then be cooked quickly for a hearty side dish. Serve 2 or 3 as a starter or side, or add a few more as a filling main.

Active time: 1 hour 45 mins; Total time: 2 hours

Storage Notes: Refrigerate cooked pierogi for up to 3 days. To freeze uncooked pierogi, transfer them to a baking sheet, making sure they are not touching, and freeze them. Once frozen, place them into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.

Tested size: 10 servings; makes about 30

Make the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until soft and the cubes can be easily smashed with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring until just softened and beginning to turn translucent, about 4 minutes.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and return them to the pot. Use a potato masher or a sturdy wooden spoon to mash the potatoes until fairly smooth. Add the sauteed onions and any butter still in the pan, plus the cheese, salt and pepper. Continue to mash the mixture until the potatoes are quite smooth and everything is well incorporated. Set aside to cool while you make the dough.

Make the dough: In a medium bowl, mix together the water, eggs, sour cream and salt. Put the flour in a large bowl and create a well in the center. Add the egg mixture to the well and, using a fork, begin mixing the liquid into the flour a little at a time until all the flour has been incorporated.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Generously flour your hands and knead until the dough is soft and pliable, about 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

Assemble the pierogi: Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and dust the paper with flour.

Generously flour your work surface and rolling pin. Working with about half the dough at a time, roll the dough out to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut as many circles from the dough as you can. (You can gather the scraps and reroll it several times to make more.)

On the center of each dough circle, add a heaping tablespoonful of the potato filling. Pick up the dough, fold it over the filling and begin carefully pinching the edges of the dough closed around the filling. It might look like there’s too much filling to enclose, but the dough will be very soft and pliable, and should easily stretch to close. Place the pierogi on the prepared baking sheet, then fill and close the rest of the circles. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. (The pierogi can be frozen at this point; see headnote.)

To finish, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop the pierogi in a few at a time, so as not to crowd the pot, gently stirring them so they don’t stick together. Cook until they begin to bob to the surface, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, transfer to a platter and repeat as necessary.

Serve the pierogi with sour cream on the side, or finish them with one of the VARIATIONS, below.

VARIATIONS: In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and, working in batches so as to not crowd the pan, saute the boiled pierogi, a few at a time, until the bottoms are browned and crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and repeat as necessary. Garnish with chives, dill or scallions, if using, and serve with sour cream. This variation is pictured above.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 large, thinly sliced yellow onion. Cook, stirring, until the onions are softened and begin to turn translucent, about 6 minutes. Toss the boiled pierogi with the onions and serve with sour cream.

Correction: An earlier version of this recipe included an incorrect amount for the milliliters of water needed in the dough. It calls for 1/2 cup (120 ml). This information has been corrected.

Adapted from a recipe by staff writer Jim Webster’s grandmother Nastazia Makitka Brick.

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