Morel Pierogis

Pierogis have been a staple in our family as long as I can remember. While we typically stick to what I consider the traditional filling of potato and cheese, around the holidays my granny would sometimes make mushroom-filled pierogis. Rather than run to the grocery store, I used some of the dried morels that we had picked this spring – enjoying nature’s bounty, even in the dead of winter!

Ingredients

1 egg, beaten

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp oil

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

 

8 cups dried morels

Water

 

1/2 cup butter

One medium onion, finely minced

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp dried parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

How To Make Morel-Filled Pierogis

First, you will need to rehydrate the dried morels. Do this by placing them into a large bowl and covering with room-temperature water. Let soak for roughly 10 minutes, then drain excess water from bowl.

 

To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Fry the minced onion for approximately five minutes, then add in the morels, parsley and salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

To make the pierogi dough, mix two-and-a-half cups flour and the salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat one egg and add the water and oil to it and mix well. Add the liquids into the flour and stir the dough together. If it is still sticky, knead extra flour into the dough – it should be soft and pliable, but not sticky.

 

There’s a couple different ways you can make pierogis. The way I grew up making them, you cut the dough into strips and then cut small chunks off before rolling each one out individually. Another technique is to roll the entire ball of dough out and use a circular cookie cutter to cut out the pierogi. Either way, once you have a circle rolled out (the size is up to your preference) place a small amount of filling into the centre of the pierogi, fold the dough in half and pinch the edges together to close the pierogi. Place on a lightly floured tea towels or on parchment paper and continue the process on the remaining ingredients.

To cook the pierogis to eat right away, place into a pot of salted boiling water and boil for eight to 10 minutes, then remove from the pot and toss in butter. You can also fry them after this step. if desired.

Makes around four dozen pierogis.

 

Note: Morels must be thoroughly cooked before consumption.