• For toppings
• For potato-filled vareniki:
Zazharka: Saute bacon and onion in butter and drizzle over your finished vareniki/pierogies.
For meat-filled pelmeni:
Melted butter. Also good dipped in vinegar or ketchup.
• For fruit filling:
Dust finished product with some sugar to keep from sticking and dip in sour cream.
Preparation
• Basic Pierogi dough:
-Whisk together egg and sour cream until well combined. Whisk in milk and water. Using a spatula, mix in flour 1 cp at a time.
-Place the dough onto a floured surface. Using a food scraper, knead the dough by turning and folding it with the food scraper. Dust the dough with flour as you need it until it is soft and doesn’t stick to your hands—around 1 cp more flour. Knead for 6–8 mins. Don’t add too much flour or the dough will become hard to work with.
-Place the dough under a bowl and let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. Cut the dough into 4–6 pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the rest covered with plastic wrap.
-Form the chunk of dough into a log and cut off small pieces one at a time. Pieces should be a little larger than a gumball. Dust rolling pin and cutting board with flour and roll out a piece of dough until it is ⅛ in thick and 3 in. in diameter.
-Fill these circles with the desired filling (potatoes, cherries, blueberries, or meat). Fold the dough over the filling to form a crescent and seal the edges tightly with your fingers. If making pelmeni (meat filling), pinch the two edges together to form a “diaper” shape. Place the finished pierogis on a cutting board dusted with flour until ready to boil.
—Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. As you finish the first batch of pierogies, place them in boiling water. After they float to the top, cook about 2–3 mins. more, then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Drizzle the pierogies with melted butter.
-Repeat steps with the rest of the dough.
Russian Beef Stroganoff—Serves 4
Ingredients
-1 lb round steaks or 1 lb skirt steak, 1½ tbsps cornstarch or all-purpose flour, 1½ tsps olive oil, 1 large onion, thinly sliced, 8 oz sliced mushrooms, ¾ cp beef broth, ¾ tsp salt, ⅜ tsp black pepper,
The Charlemagne Murders Page 33