Ingredients
Scale
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.