Polish Pierogis in a Pressure Cooker
Everyone can think back to all those yummy dishes we used to enjoy when we were kids. Whether it was a box of junk food like Pop-Tarts for breakfast or your mom’s homemade cooking. Talk about nostalgia! Well, we at GoWISE USA want to bring back a dose of that sentimentality. Each month you’ll be able to meet various members of GoWISE USA and see us recreate our favorite childhood recipes utilizing all of our products in our new video series, Mealtime Memories with GoWISE!
In the previous months, we introduced you to Amy who recreated a delicious childhood recipe, Pork & Mushroom Dumplings & Dipping Sauce utilizing the Pressure Cooker! Rachel, one of our Junior Graphic Designers and Video Editor, who utilized the Air Fryer Oven Ultra to make her Nana's Macaroni! Hailey, who made Mama Sue's Salsa in a high-speed blender. And Leslie, who made Mom's Arroz con Leche in a pressure cooker.
This month, we’ll introduce you to Britany, our Marketing Lead who utilized the 10-Quart Pressure Cooker to recreate her family’s traditional Polish Pierogis which they enjoy every Christmas Eve.
Hey all! I’m Britany, our Marketing Lead here at GoWISE. I am happy to share my family recipe for this month’s edition of Mealtime Memories.
Every year, I look forward to our Christmas Eve tradition – a traditional Polish dinner made by the whole family. This has been going on my entire life, and my father’s entire life, and my grandma’s entire life. I call that tradition! I even remember my tiny little Polish great-grandmother, or as we called her – Babci, prepping the highlight of our Christmas Eve dinner – Pierogis.
If you haven’t had pierogis before, they are basically a Polish dumpling. They can be filled with all kinds of things, but the Polish Christmas eve version is always meatless. Our Christmas Eve meal is a variation of the traditional Christmas Eve Wigilia (vigil) supper, a Roman Catholic custom in Poland. Traditionally, the Wigilia excludes meat and is comprised of 12 dishes in memory of the 12 Apostles.
One of my favorite parts about this meal is the preparation of it. A few days before Christmas Eve, the family gets together to make the pierogis and Christmas cookies. All ages are involved! We gather up around a table or island and form the pierogis while chatting and listening to Christmas music.
Me and my daughter making her very first Pierogis last year :).
My mom and dad. Aren't they so cute?!
And more Pierogi-making fun:
To kick off our Christmas Eve meal we begin with Oplatek, wafers that taste a bit like communion. 😊 Each person breaks a piece off each other’s Oplatek and wishes them a Merry Christmas. It’s a great way to connect and celebrate family before we begin the meal.
These are the main parts of the meal:
- Rye bread and butter
- Pickled Herring
- Sauerkraut Soup
- Fish Sticks
- Mac and Cheese
- Potatoes
- Pierogi
Watch this video or follow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to make the highlight of the meal, Pierogi, in a GoWISE USA Pressure Cooker!
Cheese Pierogies
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the filling:
- Cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp dried chives
For the topping:
- Half a yellow onion, chopped
- 1 stick of butter
Directions
Mound flour on cutting board and make a divot in the middle. Crack 2 eggs into the divot and use a knife to cut the eggs into the flour. (Or, use your hands like me!) Add salt and water and knead until firm. Cover with a warm bowl and let rest for 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
Using a fine sieve, rinse and drain a cup or two of cottage cheese so you are left with just the curds. Add to a medium-sized bowl, combine the curds with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 egg (optional), and dried chives.
Lightly flour your surface and roll your dough out until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Use a pierogi form to cut out circles in the dough. Place the circle in the form, add your filling, rub a bit of water along the edges, and seal it closed.
Place a rack inside your pressure cooker and add 1-2 cups of water. Place pierogies in the steam basket included with your pressure cooker. Use parchment paper liners to prevent sticking. Lock the lid onto your pressure cooker. Cook for minutes at low pressure, and quick release the pressure when it's done.
Saute onions and butter in your pressure cooker, and top the pierogis with a generous spoonful.
Enjoy!
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Thank you for joining us for another edition of Mealtime Memories! If you'd like to try Spaetzle (mentioned in the video) with your leftover dough, we have created a modified version to make in your air fryer! Check it out here.
