Pierogi
Pierogi ruskie
Dumplings of potato-cheese or sauerkraut, boiled, then often fried in butter and onion — Poland's national pocket.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Pierogi ruskie.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pierogi are filled dumplings. This is ruskie: potato, farmer's cheese (or ricotta plus cheddar), onion. Roll, fill, seal, boil until they float, then fry in butter with more onion if you want the Friday plate. Sour cream on the side. They freeze beautifully raw. A simple flour-and-water or flour-and-sour-cream dough should rest before you roll it thin. Ruskie filling is mashed potato, farmer's cheese or a ricotta-cheddar stand-in, and fried onion, well seasoned. Seal firmly; boil in salted water until they float, then give them another minute. Butter and more onion in a pan is the Friday finish. Sour cream on the side. Raw filled dumplings freeze on a tray, then in a bag.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour300 g
- Egg1 large
- Water120 ml
- Potato400 g
- Melting cheese, twaróg, ricotta, or dry cottage150 g
- Onion2 medium
- Butter40 g
- Sour cream100 g
- Salt7.4 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Dough: flour, egg, water, salt. Rest 30 minutes. Mash potatoes with cheese, fried onion, salt.
25 minStep 2
Roll thin, cut rounds, fill, crimp hard. Boil in salted water until they float plus 1 minute.
25 minStep 3
Fry in butter with more onion until spotted. Sour cream.
8 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Twaróg → Ricotta mixed with a little feta
Salt and grain. Close enough.
Tips
- A wet edge seals. A dry edge opens in the pot.
- Sauerkraut-mushroom is the Christmas filling.
History & culture
Christmas Eve (other fillings), weekday freezer bags, and diaspora church sales. Ruskie does not mean Russian in the way headlines want — it is a Ruthenian-style filling. Polish homes keep freezer bags for weeknights and other fillings for Christmas Eve. Ruskie names a Ruthenian-style potato-cheese filling; it is not a headline about Russia. Church sales in the diaspora still fundraise with these. Pinching a clean edge is household craft. Sauerkraut or meat fillings are other days, other bags.
Filled dumplings across Central and Eastern Europe. The Polish pinched edge is a household craft. Filled boiled dumplings run across Central and Eastern Europe under several names. The Polish pinched pieróg is a household shape, not a restaurant invention. Potato in the ruskie filling follows the crop's arrival, not an ancient potato cult. You are making a sealed dumpling you can boil and fry, which is the whole method.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Pierogi take?
1 hr 10 min all in — 45 min prep, 25 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people (about 24 pierogi). Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Rolling pin, Stockpot, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.
What can I use instead?
Twaróg → Ricotta mixed with a little feta. Salt and grain. Close enough.
Any tips from this recipe?
A wet edge seals. A dry edge opens in the pot. Sauerkraut-mushroom is the Christmas filling.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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