Making Perogies with my Baba

Several times throughout the year, my Baba (Ukrainian for Grandmother) makes Perogies.

If you’ve never had Perogies – you’re missing out! Perogies are small dumplings with a potato filling, boiled and typically served with butter and sour cream. Sounds super healthy right?

Perogies are a staple dish for many Ukrainian families and can be eaten throughout the year. They are also an important part of our Christmas Eve Dinner as one of the 12 Meatless dishes.

Now, Perogies can be made in various ways – each Baba has their own technique and preferred filling.

My Baba stays fairly basic – using potato and cheddar cheese for her main filling. On occasion, she will make Perogies with a blueberry or cherry filling and serve with cream for a tasty dessert. Other times she’ll make them with Potato and Cottage Cheese or Sauerkraut and Onion (these are not my favourite…)

I am a strict potato and cheese type of gal.

** If you’re more of a visual person, check out this video to watch our Perogy making process! **

If not… keep reading 🙂

Here is the recipe my Baba uses…

For the Filling:

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs.  Potatoes
• 3 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

• Peel and cut the potatoes
• Boil the potatoes until soft
• Drain Well in a Colander
• Mash Well
• Add Shredded Cheese
• Add Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Mix until smooth

For the Dough:

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Warm Water
• ½ Cup Oil
• 5 Cups Flour
• ¼ tsp. Salt

Directions:

• Add water, oil, flour and salt into a mixer
• Using dough hook, slowly process until dough is smooth
• Remove dough from mixer and place into lightly floured bowl
• Cover bowl with Saran Wrap. Cover with tea towel
• Let dough rest for at least 1 hr  

Making the Perogies:

• Roll your dough until it’s 1/4 inch thick
• Cut your dough into small circles
• Add 1 tsp. of filling into the middle of your dough circle
• Pinch the outsides of the dough together until it forms a Perogy

(see tweets below for an example)

https://twitter.com/bsmithuofa/status/1424137159745802246

Cooking:

Once you have your fresh Perogies, you can plop them into some boiling water and wait for them to cook. It only take a few minutes for them to boil to the top of the pot – indicating they are ready. Drain the water and place the Perogies into a serving dish.

Final Touches:

Add your desired toppings – we’re using butter, cooked onions, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.

They were SO GOOD!

I had so much fun learning how to make Perogies and got to spend quality time with my Baba. To top it all off we had a tasty dinner or “the fruits of our labor” as she called it.

One day I’ll bring out this recipe and teach my own children how to make Perogies.