My husband has decided spinach is his favorite pierogi filling. This was our effort to duplicate the best spinach pierogi that he’s had in Poland. This made about 4 dozen pierogi, and we had a cup of filling left over, but that was alright because it’s very tasty on its own.
Smacznego!
Lois
Pierogi Queen cutting board – click on photo to buy from the Polish Shirt Store!
I was so worried about them popping open when they were boiled that I was meticulous about the crimping -both sides! But I had no problem with the filling leaking out. (More recently, I’ve purchased the little pierogi molds featured below, and we loved them. It seemed to really speed up the process and made it easier to work the dough around a moveable filling. My genius husband suggested that we use the backside of the mold for a cutter to have a perfect fit.)
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Spinach Pierogi
- Category: Dumpling
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients
for dough
- 3 c. flour
- 1 c. water
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 egg
for filling
- 1 T. butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz. frozen spinach, cooked & drained
- 6 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 slice Havarti cheese
- salt
- pepper
- nutmeg
Instructions
for dough
- Combine all ingredients, knead dough, until smooth and less sticky, or if using a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook, just continue to mix, incorporating another 1/2 – 3/4 c. flour
- Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to use
for spinach filling
- Saute shallot and garlic in butter until translucent
- Combine with all remaining ingredients
- Heat until cheeses are melted and well combined, (other than the cream cheese, use any combination of cheeses, the Parmesan and Havarti were just what we had on hand and like)
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, allow filling to cool
to assemble and cook
- Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness
- Cut into large circles, about 3.5 inches
- Lightly moisten, just around the edge, on half of the circle
- Fill with one teaspoon of spinach mixture, fold in half, sealing edge, and crimping with a fork
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add about 10 pierogi, stir occasionally, cooking just until they float to the top
- Remove pierogi with a slotted spoon and drain
- Some people will eat the pierogi, as is, at this point, we prefer to saute them in butter with onions
Notes
Pierogi can be made in advance. Freeze them after boiling; thaw and steam or saute when ready to use them. We’re making these to share with family on Christmas day, so they’re going in the freezer. After all this work, I’ve slipped parchment paper in between the layers of dumplings, just in case.
Since I orginally wrote this post a bag of frozen spinach has gone from 16 ounces to 12 ounces. I used a 12 ounce bag and the only adjustment I made was to cut the cream cheese to 4 ounces instead of 6. Fortunatley, the amount of filing in this case was a perfect fit or the amount of dough.
Anonymous
I made these today, absolutely delicious and fairly easy. Thanks so much for posting this recipe, I am never going to buy pierogi from the store again.
Lois B
Anonymous – I’m so
glad you enjoyed them. I’m sure there are a lot of Polish grandmas out there smiling because you’re making your own!
Stephen
Oh. My. Word.
Since being introduced to blueberry pierogi 3 years ago, I have never understood the concept of savoury pierogi. I have dabbled with strawberries and raspberries, but anything other than fruit baffled me. Why would anyone ever want to deviate from the delightfully sweet berry and cream treat?!
However, I tried this recipe step by step (with one slight twist) and I have to say: I am won over to the dark side!
I used the warm strained spinach water for making the dough, so as not to lose some of that vitamin C goodness and add a touch of green to the dough.
The filling is delicious and I’ve since had it with everything from baked lemon sole to baked potato – and I will definitely be making this pierogi again.
Dziękuję!
polishhousewife
Stephen,
What an honor to hear such kind words from a pierogi aficionado! I appreciate you sharing your adaptations. Thanks for stopping by and smacznego!
Anna Marie Flanagan
What us 3c and 1c? Is the case for cups?
polishhousewife
Yes, c=cups, sorry. I need to go back and spell that out.
polishhousewife
Yes
Alka
The pierogies came out just like the ones we had in Poland. The kids were thrilled, it brought back great memories of our trip.
★★★★★
polishhousewife
That’s wonderful; thanks for letting me know! Merry Christmas!
Holly Richardson
Excellent recipe!
★★★★★
polishhousewife
Thank you, Holly!
Eric Abney
Made these today with my daughter who fell in love with pierogies while on a school trip to Poland. She says they were exactly like she remembered. We will be using this recipe often. Thank you.
★★★★★
polishhousewife
That’s fantastic, Eric; thanks for letting me know. I’m sure she had a lot of delicious food in PL.
jan
I will try these with Farmers Cheese and Spinach…
Demi
Can i use fresh spinach?
polishhousewife
Yes, just cook it however you usually do and then press the liquid out.