In April, I travelled to Poland for the first time. One of my favourite things while travelling to new countries and places is trying the traditional food. We stayed with the parents of a Polish friend of mine for two nights in the town Boleslawiec. This is what I love so much about travelling. You get to experience the culture of the country. Her parents were super friendly and we got to try the most delicious polish food. We also ate a traditional Polish meal with the family and the dish that they were the proudest of was the Pierogi Ruskie. 

Pierogi Ruskie is a traditional Polish dish. These are dumplings. Half moon shaped dough pockets that can be stuffed with all kinds of ingrediënts and are first boiled and then baked. The grandma of the family made a huge amount of dumplings especially for us. She made Pierogi Ruskie (Russian Pierogi). This is the most famous version of the pierogi stuffed with mashed potatoes and Polish white cheese (similar to cottage cheese). But you can also make sweet pierogi stuffed with fruit and eat those for dessert.

I really loved the pierogi, even though I am usually not a big fan of mashed potatoes. Therefore,  I put them on my ‘to cook’ list immediately. A few weeks back I had a lot of time on the weekend and I made them. I used spelt flour in my recipe. By accident, I found out that we have a Polish supermarket in Nijmegen and there I found the Polish white cheese twaróg. If you cannot find twárog you can also use cottage cheese. The taste is similar, but the Polish version is a bit more sour. It takes some time to prepare the Pierogi Ruskie, but it is fun to do and not difficult at all!

What do you need (for 6 portions / 20 pieces)

For the pierogi

• 250 g of (spelt)flour
• 100 ml lukewarm water
• 1 egg
• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 150 g Twaróg (polish white cheese) or cottage cheese
• 200 g peeled potatoes
• pepper and salt
• Extra: sour cream

Notes for Fodmappers

• Spelt flour is not low FODMAP. You can replace this with gluten-free flour. I have not tested this, though.
• Cottage cheese is low FODMAP up to 36 g per portion. Therefore, 1 portion is low FODMAP.

How to make the Pierogi Ruski

1. Boil the potatoes in a pan until they are done.
2. Put them into a bowl and mash them. Add the white cheese and mix it together. Season it with some salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside.
3. Put the (spelt)flour in another bowl. Make a dent in the middle and break the egg in there. Add some salt.
4. Slowly add the lukewarm water bit by bit and mix it together with your hands. Knead it into a nice dough ball.
5. Dust your kitchen counter with some flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a thin sheet (if you do not have much space it is easiest to divide the dough in two and roll it out in two times).
6. Use a large glass to cut circles out of the dough. Take the remainings of the dough, form them into a ball and roll them out again. Continue doing this until you have finished all the dough.
7. Put a spoonful of the potato-cheese mixture in the middle of a circle. Brush some water on the edges and fold the circle in two. Press the sides together with a fork or with your fingers. Repeat this for all the circles.
8. Bring a pan with water to boil. Add some salt to it.
9. Boil the pierogi in the water for 3-5 minutes. They are done when they come floating to the surface.
10. If you do not serve them immediately you can fry them in a pan with a little oil before serving. This will give them a nice crust.
11. Serve the pierogis with some sour cream on the side.

Smacznego!

Will you let me know if you made my recipe for Pierogi Ruskie or if you are going to make it? I would really like to hear your reaction in the comments or if you share your creations with me on Instagram (@karlijn2). Don’t forget to use the hashtag #karlijnskitchen!

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