Making Perogies From Scratch

The dining room table was half way covered with a large linen towel that had been floured, and on top where hundreds of finished perogie triangles ready to be thrown into the boiling pot of water. My hands were covered with sticky flour and mashed potatoes, and it was hard to clean it off in the sink with just the well water that I drew from the washroom bucket. A hot facet might have worked better, but this ranch house doesn't have running water.

I had learned the art of making perogies from a real Ukrainian grandma last week, and the recipe is quit easy. Today we made them again, half filled with mash potatoes, half filled with the Saskatoon berries that me and Jimmy picked fresh last night in the bush when he was done with moving hay bales for the night.

Ukrainian Perogies:

Dough
10 cups of flour
1 margarin tub full of water
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cooking oil

Put flour, oil, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in water a little at a time to the flour while mixing it with your hands. I keep one hand clean to be able to grab stuff. You will have to adjust the amount of flour and water that you add to make a soft dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Once it stops sticking, cut the dough in half and put one of the halves on a floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes until it is soft and has an even consistency. I'm a potter, so I kneaded it like I would knead clay to get the bubbles out and it worked. Kind of rotate the dough as you push down on it repeatably. Roll out dough, not too thin, then cut it with a pizza cutter into about 2 inch squares. You can also cut out circles for cleaner consistent perogies. You might have to clean the flour off your hands between all these steps.

Filling
You can fill the perogies with mash potatoes (cheese can be added), or berries with sugar sprinkled on them (I suggest Saskatoons). Don't add anything greasy like meat, they won't stay closed when you boil them. Once you have your filling ready, dab about half to a quarter of a spoon in the middle of a square of dough. Fasten two ends of the square on top forming a triangle pinching the sides shut without getting the mash potatoes or berries stuck in between the dough you are pinching together. I usually push the filling in a little while pinching. Sometimes I put the triangle on the table and press down on the two sides of the triangle with my whole finger to make sure it will not open in the pot.

Lay your finished triangles on the table in rows until you are ready to boil them. The baking powder helps them to float to the top when they are done. Scoop out and add your favorites on top of them. For the mash potatoes perogies you can melt butter over the top or them, add bacon on top, and even sour cream. For the berry perogies you can sprinkle sugar and add milk to the bowl and mix them around until they are all covered in it. If you have left overs, freeze them, then fry them in butter a little at a time. They should be slightly crispy and brown when they are done.