Pirogees

This recipe is copied from my personal blog. You can read that post here.

Dough:

1 C. flour

1 egg

1 t. salt

4 T. water

Filling:

2 medium sized potatoes

1 T chopped onion

salt & pepper to taste

1 T. oil

Mix dough ingredients by hand or in mixer with dough hooks until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out on floured surface. Adding more water or flour if needed. Dough should be smooth, but not sticky. Knead for about 2 minutes. Place on a floured surface under an overturned soup bowl to rest. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare filling: peel and quarter potatoes; place in pan and cover with water. Add the oil, salt and pepper to the water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes. Drain. Rice the potatoes with ricer, masher, fork or pastry blender.

As an experiment, I took out about 1.5 Cups of the prepared filling and added about 2 oz. of cream cheese to it. I made this batch just the same as the regular ones, but kept them separate for cooking and serving.

Knead dough once again. Then, roll out on a floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into squares (Size depends on preference. Mine were about 2x2 inches). Fill each square with potato filling and fold diagonally; pinch edges together taking care not to get filling between edges. Crimp edges with fork. Lay finished dumplings on a floured cloth to dry. Let dumplings dry well (1 to 2 hours).

To cook:In a small sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. Heat until the butter has a nice brown color. Turn heat to low or off.In large pot, bring 10 cups salted water to a boil. You may want to add about 1 T. of oil to the water to prevent it from boiling over. Place pirogees in the boiling water (I suggest about 15 to 20 at a time) and cook about 3 minutes or until they float at the top. This is fresh pasta and doesn't need to cook as long as dried. remove from water with slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain. Place cooked pirogees in serving bowl and toss with browned butter and salt. Serve immediately.

Suggestions: You may also fry the cooked pirogees in butter, but I like to save that for the leftovers. They make a great side dish, too. If you wish to freeze the pirogees, do so after they have dried on a floured cloth. Place them in a single layer on a tray or cookie sheet to freeze for 2-4 hours. Store in freezer bags. You could also use leftover mashed potatoes as filling if you have them. MIL said that her Mother used to make them with dry cottage cheese mixed with the potatoes and sometimes, she'd make them filled with "lekvar" (pronounced lek-wahr) which is essentially a prune filling. I have never been tempted to make those. :o)
I should also add that I made 5 times the recipe for our meal. I never did count how many pirogees I made, but I would estimate 125 two inch pirogees. I have to apologize once again for not taking pictures during cooking and serving. I am really bad about that. When I cook, I cook and when it's time to eat, forget the camera!