Food Network: Potato and Mushroom Pierogies with Roasted Apples

	Print 3x5 Recipe Cards
	Print this recipe out and cut along the dotted lines to add this 3x5 recipe card to your personal collection.

Potato and Mushroom Pierogies with Roasted Apples
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Dough:
4 large eggs, plus 1 egg for egg wash
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted unsalted butter, cooled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for sautéing
1 large leek

10 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Roasted Apples, recipe follows

Instructions
To make the pierogi dough: Mix the 4 eggs, butter,
sour cream, and salt together in a bowl with a whisk. Sift the flour onto a flat
work surface and make a well in the center, pour the wet ingredients into the
crater. Stir the mixture together with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour
into the well until a soft dough forms. Squeeze the dough with your hands, if

it’s too sticky, add a bit of flour; if it’s not pliable, add a couple
of drops of water. Knead the dough, adding only as much additional flour as needed
to keep the dough from sticking, until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Gather the dough into a ball and cover it with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap
for 10 minutes or so to rest.

To make the filling: Cook the potato cubes in boiling salted water until tender,
about 15 minutes. Drain and then mash them with a ricer or regular old potato
masher while they are still hot; set them aside to cool while preparing the rest
of the filling. Trim the root off the end of the leek and cut off all but 1-inch
of the green part. Halve the leek lengthwise and rinse really well under cool
water, checking for dirt everywhere; it gets trapped in all the layers of outer
leaves. Slice the leek finely. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet
over medium-low heat. Add the leek, mushrooms, and thyme, saute for a few minutes

to soften the vegetables; season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the
vegetables are broken down and almost dry, then pour in the cream, stir to
incorporate. Remove the pan from the heat, take out the sprigs of thyme, and
scrape the mushroom mixture into the potatoes, mix well to incorporate the
ingredients. Make sure the filling is not too hot, or it will start to cook the
dough, causing it to sog.

Lightly flour your rolling pin and counter. Take 1/2 of the dough (leaving the
rest covered so it doesn’t dry out while you work) and roll it out into a
thin circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter,
cut circles out of the dough. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into the center of
each pastry circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Beat the remaining egg with 2
tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush it on the edges of the circle.
Fold the dough over in 1/2 to enclose the filling and form a semi-circle and seal

the edges by crimping with the tines of a fork. Lightly tap the bottoms of the
dumplings on the counter to make it flat. Repeat with the remaining half of dough
and filling. You should make about 35 pierogies; put 1/2 of them in the freezer to
keep on hand (they are better than the ones you find in the frozen section of the
grocery store.)

Coat a large saute pan (that has a tight fitting lid) with vegetable oil and place
over medium heat. Lay the pierogies in the pan (you may have to do this in
batches) and fry them for a couple of minutes until they start to crisp and brown
on both sides. Pour in 1 cup of water and cover the pan to let the pierogies
steam; when the water evaporates the turnovers should be cooked and crisp. Arrange
the pierogies on a platter, garnish with parsley, and serve with roasted apples
and/or sour cream.

Roasted Apples:
3 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
3 Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread the apples out in a casserole pan and add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar,
salt, and butter. Bake until the apples are roasted and soft, about 30 minutes.
Serve the chunky apple sauce with pierogies, either hot or chilled.

Yield: 2 cups