Vareniki
These Vareniki or Russian pierogi are the ultimate comfort food! What is not to love about these stuffed dumplings? They are filled with mashed potatoes and cheese, fried with sweet onions to pure perfection, and topped with sour cream.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 eggs room-temperature
- 1/2 cup kefir room-temperature
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cup unbleached white flour (plus 4 tbsp or more till no longer sticky)
For the Filling
- 3 Russet potatoes small-medium
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese chedddar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
For Frying
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 Vidalia sweet onion large-sized
For Serving
- sour cream or yogurt
- fresh dill chopped, optional
Instructions
- Make pierogi dough. Whisk eggs, kefir, oil, start gradually adding flour, knead the dough by hand, keep adding flour till no longer sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Make potato filling. Wash, peel, slice potatoes into large cubes. Place in the pot, fill with water, and boil till easily pierced. Don't overcook. Once cooked, drain, add the rest of the ingredients for the filling, mash so the texture is thick.
- Make pierogi. Roll out the dough, using a cookie-cutter make several 1/8-in.-thick round shape circles. Place a teaspoon of potato filling on the center of each circle. Bring the opposite ends and pinch the dough in the middle, continue pinching from the middle to end, both sides, slightly press in your hands to make a flatter shape.
- Cook pierogi. Fill a large pot with cold water, bring to boil. Once boiling, carefully adds pierogi, reduce to medium, once floating boil for 2 minutes. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon or strainer. Cook in parts, not all at the same time.
- Fry (optional step). Heat cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat, once heated add ghee, and fry diced onions till golden, remove onions and set aside for now. Add pierogies, let them get crispy on one side before turning them over. Fry the pierogies in hot oil until they are golden brown. Once all pierogies are fried, top with fried onions.
- Serve. Serve immediately with melted butter, sour cream, or yogurt.
Notes
This recipe makes 25 large-sized pierogies, nutrition is approximate and calculated for 1 pierogi.
I used unbleached white flour by Bob’s Red Mill to make pasta dough; any kind of all-purpose flour will work just fine.
When making the dough, shake kefir well before adding to the egg mixture.
Allow vareniki’s dough to rest for 10 minutes; it makes the dough easier to work with after.
The vareniki filling should be thick and not too soft.
Taste the potato filling to ensure it has plenty of salt and pepper.
Roll thin rounds, approximately 1/8 inch thickness, and 2 inches in diameter.
When making the dough, make sure not to add too much flour. Also, use flour sparingly when rolling out the rounds to make sure the dough is still sticky and you can pinch the edges easily.
When boiling or frying, cook in parts. Adding too many vareniki may overcrowd the pan and make them fall apart.
Once floating in the boring water, cook for about 2 minutes only.
For frying use a larger non-stick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.
Once cooked, always add butter; this way will hold shape better and won’t get stuck.
Nutrition
Calories: 97kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 75mgPotassium: 140mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 49IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 1mg
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