12. Januar 2007

pirogi, pierogi, perogi, perogy, piroghi, piroshki, pirozhki, pyragai, piroghi, pirogi, pyrohy, пирог and пирожок

while the classic pierogi are of eastern european origin these semi-circular dumplings are no strangers to the regional cuisine here in the bohemian forest in upper austria. there are some well known regional varieties in austria like the schlutzkrapfen in tirol or the kasnudeln in carinthia. in germany, or more specific in swabia, they have the famous maultaschen. that's what we call them too. pierogi are really big north america where immigrants added them to the cuisine. i did not know that either.

i don't make them that often and i never made them totally from scratch, but i mostly make them savory and stuff them with minced meat or cabbage. i also like to drown the pierogis in tomato sauce ... mmmmmmh ...

the other day i came across another interesting variation of the pierogi, the karjalanpiirakka from finland and i decided to give it a try. so here we go!

(makes 6 pierogi)

75 ml water
50 g rice (originally puuroriisi or grötris, i used risotto rice)
salt
150 ml milk

50 ml cold water
1/2 tsp salt
50 g flour (wheat)
25 g flour (rye)
12 g melted butter

butter
water

1/2 egg
25 g butter

  1. boil the rice in water and a dash of salt until all the water has been absorbed
  2. add milk and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat
  3. mix water, salt, flour and butter until well blended
  4. roll out the dough into circles on a lightly floured surface. make sure it is thin enough
  5. place a spoon full of the rice on each circle and fold the edges up
  6. bake 5-10 minutes at 275-300°c
  7. melt a knob of butter in some water and brush the freshly baked perogies with the mixture
  8. serve warm with an egg-butter mixture (dice one hard boiled egg and mix with butter)


actually, i have no idea how the karjalanpiirakka are supposed to taste and i can only imagine how they should look like ... well, my version seems to be totally bent out of shape *ggg*. making a dish you don't even know can be some sort of a blind flight, but this recipe just sounded too cool not to try. it tastes pretty good and bearing the fact in mind that i really have no idea about the real taste of this dish, i think i did a good job with this version of the pierogi.


ps: i have seen this picto broswer in a few blogs lately. i thought i'll try it too. if you want to know more just click here.

7 Kommentare:

Anonym hat gesagt…

ooo i love perogi, at the US university i went to they were served OFTEN :) have not had them again since returning to Trinidad... maybe I should try making a batch too! :D

vasilisa hat gesagt…

I love all kinds of pierogies. They really are a staple of Easter European (at least definetly Russian) food. But I'm too lazy to make them :-( I buy them regularly from Russian deli stores around here...

Anonym hat gesagt…

Je découvre ton blog. Bravo pour toutes ces recettes très alléchantes !

burekaboy — hat gesagt…

hey gerdalicious :P fancy perogi. you know we call them "varenike"? usually they are potato and onion filled but there are other variations like cheese or mushroom. i make them but it's a whole day procedure cause it takes forever to roll, cut, fill, and cook. i usually make about 200! lol. glad i have a big freezer! never heard of a finnish variety.

tschoerda hat gesagt…

cocopassions, my french is very rusty, but merci pour le compliment!

this finnish version really was an experiment, because i have no idea how they are supposed to taste!

but you guys definitely have to make classic pierogies (no excuses, vasilisa *lol* ... but i totally understand: it really requires time and patience to make them from scratch)

TriniGourmet, sher, i have found a recipe for swabian pockets that comes close to how i usually make them. i like to modify the filling and rather add cabbage, spinach or swiss chard than meat ...

when i make maultaschen, i usually make way more than i can eat in one meal :), burekaboy not exactly 200, but i too like to freeze them. you can always save them for a rainy day!

ps: calling me gerdalicious totally made me blush :) but go ahead, i like the flirting thing!

Pille hat gesagt…

Karjalanpiirrakka is wonderful - I'm especially partial to the potato-filled ones. I've made them few times myself, but luckily I can buy freshly made and rather decent ones from most supermarkets here:)

Pille hat gesagt…

Oh, I should have added "pirukas" and "pirukad" to your list (that's singular and plural for pirogi in Estonian:)