homemade pierogi ruskie from scratch

I love pierogi. Not a particularly shocking statement from a woman with a fiercely patriotic Polish grandmother, but true nonetheless. For me the best pierogi have to be the classic 'ruskie' version filled with mashed potato, golden fried onions and cheese. Other pierogi such as sauerkraut and mushroom or meat fillings are perfectly lovely but nothing beats a well made pierogi ruskie gently cooked in butter or lard until it is golden and crispy on the outside and topped with a generous scattering of crispy onions in butter or small pieces of crispy bacon. This is definitely not health food but it's sometimes the only thing that will make you feel better about life or help to cure your homesickness. As children we'd normally have them for dinner with some baked beans or a big splodge of tomato ketchup - I guess this is a symptom of being raised in an anglo-polish family. It's not so easy to get hold of the right cheese, twarog or farmers cheese, for pierogi ruskie in Bangkok so I decided to make my own rather than substitute. It's very easy to get twarog back in the UK now, just take a look in the chilled cabinet in any big supermarket and it'll be alongside all the other 'ethnic' goods along with some half decent kielbasa. It's not at all difficult to make twarog though so why not give it a go if you have the time. For my home made twarog I follow the method described perfectly by the ever creative Chip Butties and Noodle Soup.

The Dough (This recipe is based on Beata Zatorska's which can be found here.)
To make the pastry for about 120 pierogi

1kg plain flour
125g unsalted butter at room temperature
500ml warm water

1. Put the flour on to a big open work surface and rub in the butter then mix in the water little by little until you have a soft, pliable dough. 
2. Place in a bowl and cover over to avoid it drying out while you prepare the filling.

Pierogi Ruskie Filling
1kg approx cooked mashed potato
500g twarog (Polish Farmer's Cheese)
1 large onion, finely diced
2 tbsp of butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the onion with the butter until soft and golden brown.
2. Mix the mashed potato, onion, cheese, salt and pepper together until thoroughly combined. 

Putting it all together

1. Roll out a piece of the dough on a floured surface to about 3mm thick then using a cutter or up-turned glass cut out circles of about 8cm diameter.
2. Fill each disc with a teaspoon of the potato and cheese mixture then fold the disc over and crimp the edges together with your thumb and forefinger. 
3. Once you've made a few you can either cook them immediately in boiling salted water. This should only take a few minutes, they're done when they float back up to the surface. Alternatively you can freeze them then cook when you want them. If you choose to freeze them, put them in the freezer in a single layer on baking parchment. Once they're frozen put them in a zip lock bag for easier storage. You can cook them directly from the freezer.
4. One of my favourite ways to serve pierogi is to fry them in a little butter after they've been boiled. Cook them until they're crispy and top with crispy cooked onions or bacon bits. 

NOTE: I recently tried a different cooking method for preparing the pierogi from frozen, similar to that used when you cook frozen gyoza. I heat a little oil in a non-stick pan and put a single layer of pierogi in the pan then cook them for 2-3 minutes or until they just begin to colour. Next add recently boiled water from the kettle so that the pierogi are 2/3 covered in water. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. If at the end of this time the water hasn't completely evapourated remove the lid and allow to cook until the water has completely disappeared and the pierogi have crispy bottoms.

I've added these awesome pierogi to Made with Love Mondays over at Javelin Warrior's site.

I've also contributed to the Four Seasons Food: Autumn

Four Seasons Food hosted by Delicieux and Eat Your Veg

potato, bacon and red onion crispy pizza

I love this pizza. It's a little bit unusual but then most of the best things in life are. I like that is doesn't have the classic tomato base but it still has lots of great flavour. You could by all means make a deep pan version of this pizza but I feel the crispiness of a thin base is what's needed here.
These quantities give you enough for two 25cm thin based pizzas. I started with raw potatoes for this one but you could just as easily use up some left over roast potatoes with this pizza. I used my trusty cast iron skillet as the cooking pan for the pizza. It is the perfect size for a single serve pizza.


Ingredients
1/4 basic pizza dough (approx 300-400g)
1 small potato peeled and very finely sliced (a couple of millimeters is best)
50g finely diced smoked prosciutto or bacon
1 small red onion finely sliced
couple of tsps pesto (optional)
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 ball of mozzarella
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Place your sliced potatoes in a bowl and pour over some freshly boiled water from the kettle. The aim is to scald them slightly so that they are not completely raw before going on the pizza. Leave for around 10-15 minutes then carefully drain off the water and remove the excess water from the potatoes with absorbent kitchen paper. Set to one side until ready.
2. Place a small frying pan over a gentle heat and crisp up your bacon/prosciutto pieces. Don't go too far as they will continue to cook in the oven later.
3. Preheat your oven so that it is pretty much as hot as it will go. I generally go for 220C. Put your baking sheet/stone/skillet in the oven and leave to heat up.
4. Once the oven has reached full heat, roll out your dough to the size of your cooking pan. 
5. Place the dough in your pan taking care not to touch it as the pan will be super hot.
6. Put half the potatoes on each base in a thin layer. You want a single layer of potato across the whole base. Scatter over the bacon, rosemary and onion slices then dollop on a little pesto if you're using it. Finally add the mozzarella and a little salt and pepper. 
7. Bake in the oven for around 13 minutes or until the pizza is a nice golden brown.

super easy pumpkin soup

I know I say this about a lot of my recipes but I really do love this one. It is stupendously easy, even after a crazy busy day at work I can bring myself to make this when I get home. It is very low calorie, pretty much fat free if you don't use oil for the roasting or for garnishing and surprisingly creamy for a dairy free soup. Sometimes I will vary this recipe by roasting the pumpkin with a couple of tablespoons of ras al hanout or cumin powder and chilli flakes, or I might add in some whole garlic and rosemary for something completely different a current favourite is to add a little creamed coconut and thai green or red curry paste when I blend it. There really is no end to what you can do with this awesome, simple recipe. The version in these pictures is topped with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and some smoked chilli and garlic oil.

Makes enough for 2-3 people

Ingredients 
1 butternut squash, acorn squash or similar sized amount of pumpkin (approx 1kg unpeeled)
Oil spray (optional)
1 or 2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes (to taste)
c.500ml just boiled water
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Cut the pumpkin/squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
2. Spray the pumpkin flesh with a little oil if using, season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you are using. Place the pumpkin cut side down in a roasting pan then put in the oven for around 45 minutes or until cooked. I usually check after 30 minutes. You will know the pumpkin is ready when you can easily insert a knife and the skin is coming away from the flesh.
3. Once the flesh is cooked, boil the kettle then scoop the pumpkin flesh into a food processor.  Add the stock cubes and blitz it all together until you have a smooth puree and everything is combined. While the food processor is still running slowly and carefully add the just boiled water until your soup reaches your desired consistency. I usually use around 500ml.
4. You can either pour this straight into bowls from the food processor or transfer it to a saucepan and keep warm until you are ready to eat. I'm sure this soup would keep well in the fridge for a few days however I've never tried as it always disappears in one sitting in my house.

  

Optional Extras To make your soup more special why not try one or more of these optional extras. There's also nothing wrong with a chunk of crusty, buttered bread with this soup either, in fact you're missing out if you don't!

1. Drizzle with some smoked chilli and garlic oil such as this one from L'ail Olive with which I am currently obsessed. It's glorious.
2. Sage leaves gently fried in a little butter.
3. Crumbled feta/riccotta/cottage cheese with or without some chilli flakes.
4. Crumbled blue cheese.
5. Crispy fried bacon or pancetta.
6. Poached, shredded chicken.
7. Roasted pumpkin seeds.
8. Crispy fried onions.
9. Chunks of roasted squash.
10. Harissa paste swirl.

Let me know if you've got any other ideas for favourite pumpkin soup additions - I'm always looking for new inspirations.

awesome macaroni cheese with pancetta & spinach

Just the thought of this dish makes me happy. Soft, cheesy and creamy sauce with salty, crispy bacon bits topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and the 'healthy' addition of the spinach. This is the ultimate comfort food for me and one of the first dishes I learnt to cook for myself, although in a simpler version. If you don't fancy bacon/pancetta or spinach leave it out, it will still be super awesome and delicious. Also feel free to change it up a bit adding roasted peppers, fried mushrooms, sweetcorn or green chillies. This is a great dish and everyone has their own signature version. Here is my current favourite.

Ingredients Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 - 8 as a side.

500g pasta shapes
300g strong cheese, grated (I used equal quantities of mature cheddar, gruyere and emmental)
200g fresh spinach
100g cubed pancetta or streaky bacon
500ml milk
100ml cream (optional)
50g butter
50g plain flour
pepper
nutmeg
approx 70g bread crumbs (I used fresh so had to toast them myself but skip this stage if you have shop bought breadcrumbs such as panko)



1. Preheat your oven to 200C fan.

2. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet but drain it a minute or so before the end of the time. You don't want it to be over cooked at this stage. Leave it in the pan to one side.

3. If using fresh breadcrumbs toast them off in the oven, under the grill or in a cast iron skillet or frying pan on the hob.

4. In a wide frying pan crisp up your bacon or pancetta. When this is done set to one side to drain on kitchen paper and pour off the excess fat from the pan into a separate dish. (Please don't pour it down the drain - dispose of it properly).


5. Return the pan to the heat then add the spinach and wilt down. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can then scatter the spinach on the base of the oven proof dish.


6. Put a saucepan over a medium heat then add the butter and flour and stir together until the butter is completely melted and combined with the flour.

7. Now, little by little add in the milk stirring throughly after each addition to ensure it is completely combined and no lumps are forming. You hear about some people heating the milk separately, I never bother because it's just extra mess and my sauces always work out fine this way.

8. Once you have added all the milk grate in a little nutmeg and black pepper to taste and the cream if using then continue to heat the white sauce until it has thicken so that it coats the back of a spoon and the raw flour taste has gone. Turn off the heat then add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until it has melted in. Now stir through your crispy bacon bits.






9. It's now time to build up the final dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until all the pasta is covered then transfer to the oven proof dish that has the spinach on the bottom.



10. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese followed by the breadcrumbs then place in the oven  for around 20 minutes or until it is golden brown on top and bubbling round the edges.